Upland waste site expansion resurfaces

SANDPOINT — Bonner County is dusting off and updating a 17-year-old plan to expand its solid waste collection site on Upland Drive.

The Bonner County Planning Department is processing a conditional use permit for the expansion. A hearing before the county Planning & Zoning Commission has not yet been set, according to Planning Director Milton Ollerton.

The expansion includes a 120-square-foot attendant’s station, a dozen 8-cubic-yard Dumpsters, five 30-cubic-yard roll-off containers. The site will keep its household hazardous waste shed and the rack where free items are left.

The site sits on a 10-acre parcel owned by the county. The new site would be approximately 43,000 square feet in size and would be located near the center of the property, according to planning department records.

If approved, construction would commence this spring, according to the permit application posted to the planning department’s website. The expansion is expected to curb illegal dumping because the nearest full-service waste collection site is located in Colburn, which is 11 miles north of Sandpoint.

The current iteration of the Upland site accepts only household garbage. The expansion would allow bulkier items such as appliances to be collected there before being shipped off site for disposal. Existing trees will be used as a visual buffer between adjacent properties.

Plans were advanced in 1999 to expand the Upland site, but ran into significant opposition from neighboring landowners who were concerned about traffic congestion and pedestrian safety. Opponents also disputed the need for an expanded facility.

The 1999 expansion plan was ultimately shelved.