OpenCDA

September 24, 2015

Will Port of Hope Move to Post Falls?

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: , , — Bill @ 7:20 am

portofhomeOpenCdA has received word that northern Idaho’s Port of Hope, Inc., currently in Coeur d’Alene, has applied for a special use permit to establish a federal residential re-entry center in Post Falls.  We believe this will result in the closure of the Coeur d’Alene facility which has been in operation since 1998.

OpenCdA fully understands the Port of Hope’s apparent desire to leave Coeur d’Alene.  The shameful efforts by members of the City of Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission with help from employees of School District 271 to run Port of Hope out of town in 2013 were documented in this series of OpenCdA posts.   Thankfully, the Coeur d’Alene City Council resoundingly rejected those efforts in its meeting on October 1, 2013.

We hope that the members of the Post Falls Planning & Zoning Commission will look at our posts linked above.   These posts revealed how hysteria and deception can drive a completely unsupported decision in a planning commission hearing.  Our hope is that however the Post Falls Planning & Zoning Commission rules on Port of Hope’s application, the Commissioners’ votes will be based entirely on their objective evaluation of the relevant evidence presented during the hearing.

October 2, 2013

Special Use Permit Approved!

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 7:29 am

portofhome

At its regularly-scheduled meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, the Coeur d’Alene City Council voted unanimously on a motion by Councilman Ron Edinger to approve a Special Use Permit for the Port of Hope and to have the City Attorney prepare the Findings and Order.  The Council’s unanimous decision reverses the decision of the Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission in August to deny the permit.

OpenCdA urges readers to view the streaming video of the October 1, 2013, City Council meeting.  We also urge readers who have not viewed the streaming videos of the July 9 and August 13 Planning Commission meetings to view them.   Please pay particular attention to the testimonies of the Port of Hope managers and staff.

The Port of Hope is one of many Federal Bureau of Prisons Residential Reentry Centers (RRC) throughout the United States.  They are the heart of the BoP’s program of Residential Reentry Management.   To the extent this program succeeds, it is because the BoP sets high standards which its RRCs must consistently meet.   But success will not come unless the RRC’s staff and management set a good example for both the federal inmates in transition and for the community which hosts the RRC. As we clearly saw from the testimonies of Port of Hope’s representatives at both the Planning Commission hearings and last night’s City Council meeting, they do set a good example for the inmates in transition and for our community.

The staff and management at Port of Hope have consistently met and exceeded the federal standards intended to ensure the host community’s safety as well as increase the chances of successful reentry when a federal prisoner has termed out and is released.  These federal standards are far more stringent than anything required by the Idaho Department of Correction or the City of Coeur d’Alene.

In our community we are fortunate to have an exemplary RRC, the Port of Hope.  OpenCdA hopes that the City and State will look and learn, then adopt the best practices from the federal program to improve the safety of our State and City.

 

September 30, 2013

Port of Hope Hearing Tuesday (Repost)

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 3:45 pm

portofhome

At its regularly-scheduled meeting beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, the Coeur d’Alene City Council will conduct a quasi-judicial hearing to approve or deny the Port of Hope’s application for a Special Use Permit.   This is informally referred to as an appeal from the 3-0 decision of the Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission to deny the application.  This will be a new hearing, not an appeal from the record, so all evidence and testimony must be presented as if it had never been received or heard before.  OpenCdA hopes that citizens who have fact-based evidence on this issue will appear and testify under oath at the quasi-judicial hearing. (more…)

September 25, 2013

Wow! How Prescient!

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 12:23 pm

07-09-13 P&Z Jordan PoH 1At the Tuesday, July 9, 2013, Coeur d’Alene Planning Commission’s quasi-judicial hearing on the Port of Hope’s application for a Special Use Permit, Commission Chairman Brad Jordan made an interesting comment beginning at approximately 02:31:27 in the streaming video.  Jordan, referring to the Port of Hope facility in Nampa, said, “Now, I understand they’re apparently operating fine in Nampa.  One thing we don’t know about Nampa is what kind of an area they’re in in Nampa.  It could be next to an industrial parkIt could be out in some area, but we don’t know where they’re at in Nampa, so it comes back to a land use decision, I think.  Is this an appropriate use for us in this location.”  [emphasis mine]

Aside from the fact that Port of Hope’s location in Nampa is completely irrelevant to any decision of the appropriate use of land in Coeur d’Alene, Jordan’s reference to “an industrial park” was curious and remarkably prescient.   Read on. (more…)

September 18, 2013

Subverting Port of Hope

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 4:15 pm

portofhome

Is the City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, misusing its Planning & Zoning Commission and its zoning ordinances to drive a successful long-time Idaho-based non-profit corporation, Port of Hope, Inc. (PoH) out of business at its northern Idaho address?  If so, why?

If you own or operate a business in Coeur d’Alene or if you’re thinking of starting a business or relocating your existing business here, please take the time to read this.    What the City of Coeur d’Alene is doing to Port of Hope should not happen to you or anyone else.

If you’re a taxpayer in Coeur d’Alene, you need to read this as well.  The City government’s official actions could end up costing City taxpayers many millions of dollars.

Please read this lengthy post carefully and watch the recordings of both the July 9 and August 13, 2013, meetings of the Coeur d’Alene Planning & Zoning Commission.  Then decide for yourself if the City government is acting out of good intentions,  mere incompetence, cronyism, or something else. (more…)

July 13, 2013

Upon Further Consideration…

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 7:40 pm

portofhome

It’s amazing how receiving more complete and accurate information can change one’s perspective on a local issue such as the Port of Hope’s application to the City of Coeur d’Alene for a special use permit to operate as a criminal transitional facility. (more…)

July 9, 2013

Valid Concern, But Why Now?

Filed under: Probable Cause — Tags: — Bill @ 12:47 pm

portofhome

Sunday’s Coeur d’Alene Press skewspaper ran an article headlined Rehab facility near Fernan Elementary criticized.   Given the Press appears to lack either the will or the skill to do enterprise investigative news reporting, OpenCdA asks “Why now?”  Why is the Press suddenly interested in Port of Hope, Inc. ? (more…)

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