Let's make a deal?
The hillsides to the south/southeast of Wallace that have been the topic of debate since late 2020. The closest hillside to the right is some of the 40 acres that Jones and Gauteraux LLC. has offered to sell to the city of Wallace.
Photo by CHANSE WATSON
WALLACE — The ongoing saga of what will (if anything) happen to the southern hillside in Wallace following its partial purchase from a logging company may finally have an end in sight.
According to the Wallace City Council agenda for March 10, councilwoman and Parks & Recreation Committee member Heather Branstetter plans to update the rest of the council on a land use proposal that was presented to her last week by the southern hillside owners, Charles Jones and Ryder Gauteraux.
Jones and Gauteraux LLC. purchased 500 acres of land, located south/southeast of Wallace, earlier in 2020 from Layton Land & Timber. Included in this land deal was 40 acres of property on the hillside immediately south of Downtown Wallace.
Once word got out of the purchase, concern over what the land’s new owners were going to do with the property had sparked the creation of the “Save the Hillsides” group and even spurred a possible change to Shoshone County's Comprehensive Plan.
Planning & Zoning Administrator Dan Martinsen explained in a previous interview that a county’s Comprehensive Plan is essentially what building and zoning codes are based on.
At the meeting last Wednesday, Jones and Gauterax explained to Branstetter and councilman Rick Schafer that they were interested in the idea of parting with the hillside land.
"We have offered to sell it to the city if they are interested in putting together some sort of parks and recreation use of the property…which would allow people to hike, bike or at least access the top of that peak," Gauterax said to the News-Press.
The specifics of the proposal will be revealed at Wednesday's city council meeting by Branstetter, but both have confirmed to the News-Press that multiple avenues, including a possible land trade involving the Bureau of Land Management, had been discussed.
The offer to sell the land to the city comes partly in response to the concern that was raised by many in the Wallace community.
"I understand from friends of 'Save the Hillsides' that they are most interested in protecting the ridge line that runs from the water tower to King Street," Gauterax said. "(Essentially) The ridge line that you can see from downtown Wallace looking south."
Hillside development in this area and the perceived threat to the city's viewshed was what motivated Wallace resident Courtney Frieh to submit proposed amendments to the county's Comprehensive Plan in September 2020. Initially starting with seven proposed amendments, the county P&Z commission ended up recommending two of them (one amended) in October 2020 to the Board of County Commissioners for adoption. The commissioners have yet to take any action on the matter.
As far as the offer to sell the hillside land goes, Gauterax said that he and Jones offered it to the city first because they think "the most useful benefit of the property would be parks and recreational use that would connect the city of Wallace to the Coeur d'Alene National Forests."
While Branstetter stressed that no action will be taken on the proposal at the Wednesday council meeting, she will move forward with continuing to explore options and see if any seem viable.
"As a Parks and Rec. person, I would certainly try and make another park happen. That would be cool," Branstetter said.
Neither the county, or the city of Wallace, have received any building applications for any development on the southern Wallace hillside.
The Wallace City Council meeting will occur on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Those who wish to listen in can call 208-261-9800 at the time of the meeting. Those who call in are asked to mute their phone.