COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Buildings on the National Register of Historic Places are safe in Coeur d’Alene through at least Dec. 17 due to a new City Council moratorium issued Tuesday imposing a temporary moratorium on demolition and exterior alteration permits.
The moratorium comes after a local campaign to keep the century-old Roosevelt Inn, which is on the Register of Historic Places, from being demolished by a developer to build a residential development. The Inn is on the list of register-listed properties that fall under the moratorium, along with three historic churches and several civic buildings.
In April, Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond expressed his sadness that the building could be torn down and foreshadowed council efforts to keep the structure up.
At the June 18 council meeting, Community Planning Director Hilary Paterson’s explanation of the new moratorium featured an image of the Roosevelt Inn as she explained the potential for additional zoning code changes to protect historic buildings.
“Looking at the downtown core, in terms of the zoning code and what’s allowed by right and the design guidelines with that…these are really important things for us,” Paterson said.
The resolution passed city council with Council Member Woody McEvers offering the sole dissenting vote.
Now that there is a moratorium on the destruction of the Roosevelt Inn and similar structures, it is unclear how the pending sale of the property to developer Blue Fern Homes will progress, or whether the City of Coeur d’Alene will enact more permanent protections for historic buildings in the coming months.
