Commissioners deny Hoodoo Valley rezone

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SANDPOINT — A proposed 160-acre rezone in the Hoodoo valley was denied by county commissioners on a split decision.

Wednesday’s decision concludes discussions and deliberations made in many previous meetings on the subject.

“The argument’s always going to be, ‘what is small scale?’ Is it 5 acres, is it 10 acres, is it 20 acres? We’ve seen that in the discussion,” Commissioner Jeff Connolly said during deliberation. “I do believe that [approving] this opens the door for more 5 acre units.”

Commissioner Steve Bradshaw agreed with Connolly’s view.

“I certainly see no reason to go smaller than 10 [acre lots], and for me, I think it should stay exactly as it’s zoned right now.” Bradshaw said.

Commissioner Dan McDonald, however, expressed reluctant approval for the changes based on the findings of law provided by the Planning & Zoning Commission, even though they recommended denial of the rezone and change to the comprehensive plan.

“[T]he Planning & Zoning Commission’s decision for denial was in direct conflict with the findings of fact [they] adopted,” McDonald said.

McDonald pointed out that the Planning & Zoning Commission stated in its conclusions that the 160-acre plot of land owned by Daum Construction did not fit any of the criteria to be considered Agricultural/Forest land, even though his tone implied that he did not agree with the assertion.

“When you look at what the Planning & Zoning Commission actually said, what they adopted for their findings of fact, it says again, that the site is missing almost every criteria for its land use designation of Ag/Forestry. So I would have to be a ‘yes’ vote on the comprehensive plan amendment just based on the facts of the law,” McDonald said.

Those who chose to speak during public comment raised a variety of issues, mainly surrounding the idea of how an increased population would strain services and degrade environmental quality in the area.

“Once you start this growth pattern, It won’t be the Bonner County that we know today. And I know the old timers say it’s already not the Bonner of the old times, but that doesn’t make it right,” Jeff Plummer said. “Those 5-acre lots aren’t going to be affordable. No local is going to buy those things. It's going to be more people from California and Oregon.”

Other commenters spoke on similar topics, even going so far as to imply preventing further growth in the county.

“I think we’re in this mess because of all the people who've moved here,” Summer Cantrell said.

“Just because everybody is flocking to Idaho doesn’t mean we need to accommodate all of them”

Approximately 20 people went on the record in opposition to the rezone and comprehensive plan amendment, with none speaking in favor.

“We have a serious infrastructure problem, and we need to address that before you increase the amount of people living there,” Virginia Branham said.

Representatives for Daum Construction maintained that all property owners have the right to request changes that would apply to their property, and that the ultimate decision rested with the commissioners.

“It’s a due process thing,” said Jeremy Grimm, one of Daum Construction’s project representatives. “A specific question was asked by the applicant. And they are entitled to a specific answer to that specific legal question. If they would have asked a different question, there may have been a different answer.”

It is unclear what the next steps for Daum Construction will be, but for now, the Hoodoo Valley for the most part will remain zoned as Ag/Forest land, with 10-acre lot minimums.