Idaho

Coeur d'Alene approves BMX bike racing course
Special-use permit OK'd for Cherry Hill

Erica Curless
Staff writer

Coeur d'Alene _ BMX bike racing is coming to Cherry Hill.

After four hours of testimony Tuesday night, the Coeur d'Alene City Council unanimously voted to grant a special-use permit for a 6.5-acre dirt track and 32-space parking lot at the northeast corner of 15th Street and Hazel Avenue.

Residents who live on top of the popular sledding hill argued that the bike track will create noise, dust and traffic problems and that there are better locations in town for children to race their bikes. They also accused the city of failing to notify residents of plans for the park and stifling the democratic process.

City officials countered that the bike track proposal had been on the Parks and Recreation Commission agenda at least 19 times.

Councilwoman Dixie Reid scolded Cherry Hill residents for harboring "Not In My Back Yard" feelings toward local children.

"What are our lives all about if it isn't for our children?" Reid said.

She also complimented the children, dressed in their brightly colored BMX uniforms, saying their manners were often more polite than those of opponents sitting in the audience. After warning some Cherry Hill residents to contain their outbursts, Mayor Sandi Bloem threaten to boot one man from the public hearing.

After the Coeur d'Alene Planning Commission approved the request July 8, Cherry Hill residents David and Marilyn Williams filed an appeal on behalf of their neighbors.

"Those of us who live on Cherry Hill have the right to peacefully enjoy our homes, and that is going to be taken away," Marilyn Williams told the council before calling the public hearing a facade. "You should be ashamed of yourselves."

BMX supporters, mainly parents and grandparents of young bike racers, said the track will have less impact than the hundreds of local children who sled down Cherry Hill each winter. They said that the track won't have lights and that the small loudspeakers will point toward 15th Street and won't be nearly as loud as the noise from nearby Interstate 90.

"It's a godsend for kids who don't fit into the niche of school-sponsored sports," said parent John Coffey, whose son races with about 35 other children in the North Idaho BMX Association.

Brendan Northington, 9, had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone to tell the council why Coeur d'Alene needs a track.

"I think it would be a good idea to have a track up on Cherry Hill, because we need a new track," he said, adding it would be convenient because his grandparents live nearby.

Bart Chamberlin argued that he pays nearly $2,000 a year in city taxes and that his neighborhood doesn't need the commotion.

"There's already too many cars with the sledding," Chamberlain said. "There's already all kinds of problems."

Parks Director Doug Eastwood said Coeur d'Alene parks are financed with grants and money raised from user groups such as the BMX association, not tax dollars.

He said work on the track should begin this fall with completion anticipated by next summer.

Coeur d'Alene bought the 30 acres at the base of Cherry Hill in 1999 with the intention of creating the Cherry Hill Community Park.

Councilman Chris Copstead said that he fully supports a BMX track and that Cherry Hill neighbors should embrace the project. Copstead said he opposed the city's skateboard park several years ago for many of the same reasons the Cherry Hill resident dislike the idea of a bike track.

"I'll admit I was so wrong," Copstead said. "That's the most-used park."

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