IDL approves Idaho Club encroachment permit for Trestle Creek project

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Idaho Department of Lands has once again approved the Idaho Club’s application for an encroachment permit near the mouth of Trestle Creek in a Nov. 18 final order, following an Oct. 7 public meeting hosted by Hearing Examiner Leslie Hayes from the Office of Administrative Hearings. The decision brings developers one step closer to building the proposed 88-slip marina, which has been in the works — in one form or another — since 2008.

IDL previously approved an encroachment permit for a 105-slip community dock at the same site in October 2023; however, developers Valiant Idaho, LLC and Valiant Idaho II, LLC subsequently entered into a bargain sale agreement with the Kalispel Tribe, transferring ownership of a 5.8-acre parcel that included the final quarter mile of the main branch of Trestle Creek and one-eighth of a mile of the north branch. The Kalispel Tribe’s land will be held in conservation in perpetuity.

Under Idaho Code, property owners can only petition to build a community dock if they own three parcels adjacent to the water. By transferring ownership of one of the parcels, the Idaho Club no longer qualified for the previous permit.

Trestle Creek. Courtesy photo.

The newest proposal includes an 88-slip commercial marina — with at least 50% of the slips available to the public — as well as a breakwater, pedestrian bridge, boat bilge pump out station, 46-space parking lot, storage and seven residential lots with corresponding private docks.

Taking into account public comment given at a September 2023 hearing, the developers will maintain several man-made islands as well as the creek’s eastern channel. They also intend to remove an old boat ramp near the mouth of Trestle Creek and a culvert, known as the North Branch Outlet, which will redirect juvenile bull trout back into the creek’s main branch, away from predators.

Community members and conservation groups have criticized the project, arguing that boat traffic, potential pollution and the dredging and filling needed to complete the project could negatively impact nearby bull trout and kokanee salmon habitat. The last round of public comment, which included 819 unique written statements, was overwhelmingly opposed, and of the of the 18 people who gave public testimony at the Oct. 7 meeting, only one spoke in favor of the project. Bull trout are protected by the Endangered Species Act and listed as threatened in all of their known habitats, including Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

According to the Idaho Conservation League, more than half of the Pend Oreille Basin’s bull trout population spawns in Trestle Creek.

Following the Oct. 7 hearing, Hayes issued a finding of fact, which recommended IDL deny the Idaho Club’s application without prejudice and called the application “premature.”

She agreed that, as required by Idaho Code 58-1306, the development does not have an “unreasonable adverse effect” on neighboring properties, nor does it cause “undue interference with navigation;” however, she found that it was too early to tell whether the “benefits derived exceed any detrimental effects.”

“Despite that, until Trestle Creek stops flowing into the area where the marina is proposed to be built, the detrimental effects of this application cannot be weighed against the potential benefits derived,” wrote Hayes.

She recommended that the developers resubmit their application after rerouting the North Branch Outlet.

IDL Director Dustin Miller agreed, in part, with Hayes’ findings, though ultimately approved the application, arguing that the project meets the requirements for a commercial marina and provides a “clear environmental, economic and public benefit,” which exceeds the “detrimental effects.”

Additionally, he found that because the North Branch Outlet restoration will occur above the high water mark, it falls outside of IDL’s jurisdiction and did not factor into the department’s considerations.

Miller granted the encroachment permit Nov. 18 on the condition that developers receive additional permits from the Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before beginning construction.

“I find (not speaking for the client/land owner) the order refreshing in that it validates the legal process, upholding the standards and criteria by which the law and rules are crafted and should be objectively applied,” Jeremy Grimm of Whisky Rock Planning + Consulting, which represents the Idaho Club, told the Reader in a Nov. 19 email.

“The well-written decision speaks truth to the (intentional or not) misinformation promoted on social media and during testimony at the hearing,” he added.

Grimm appeared on behalf of the Idaho Club at the Bonner County board of commissioners Nov. 19 business meeting to request a four-year extension on the development’s conditional use permit, which the board approved in January 2021. The original CUP would have expired in January 2025.

The CUP does not include alterations made to the plan after the September 2023 hearing; however, developers intend to apply for a modification in the future so that the CUP better aligns with the current proposal.

“This project is complex. We’re not building a house. It’s adjacent to a sensitive tributary so it is a complex project that requires a lot of thinking and process,” said Grimm.

Chair Asia Williams opposed the extension, arguing that the developers should apply for a new CUP using the current proposal rather than renew and then modify the former CUP.

“I believe it is likely that the conditional use permit that was actually voted on and approved back then is no longer actually what that project is. We’re changing the project as we go with new amendments, and so it seems reasonable and appropriate to say that this project should come back before the board with an updated, renewed request,” said Williams, adding that since IDL only approved the encroachment permit the day before, “maybe we prematurely authorized the conditional use permit.”

Commissioner Ron Korn argued that the request was within statute and ultimately made an amended motion to give developers a shorter, two-year extension.

The motion passed with Williams dissenting.

Going forward, the Idaho Club must obtain permits from the DEQ and the Corps, among other requirements.

“The majority of this effort is focused on the review and approval of plans for the dredging of the existing marina basin and armoring the shoreline with riprap to prevent existing erosion from damaging the area. This is occurring at the moment, and we expect agency decisions in the coming months,” Grimm told the Reader.