P&Z denies Peaceful Pines permit

SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission denied a conditional use permit Thursday for a 15-cabin vacation rental and event pavilion in the Lower Pack River Valley.

The decision cleared the commission on a 3-4 vote with acting Chairman Brian Bailey casting the tie-breaking vote. Commissioners Trevor Kempton and Taylor Bradish voting in favor of the permit and commissioners Sheryl Reeve and Susan Glasoe voting against.

Gary and Susan Hoesel proposed the project on a 7-acre parcel off Olympic Drive, which is located west of the Idaho Club. The project would be developed with ample vegetative buffers to limit impacts to neighboring landowners and provide a secluded woodland retreat that would host weddings, family gatherings, corporate retreats and wine tastings.

“It’s in our interests to maintain as much vegetation as possible,” said Jared Hoesel, another of the project’s co-owners.

The project, however, did not sit well with neighbors due to potential traffic impacts, a substandard road and a general incompatibility with the character of the rural neighborhood.

“The Peaceful Pines Cabins is not what the neighborhood wants or needs,” said Jamie Jeffres, who argued that two different editions of an Institute of Transportation Engineers trip-generation manual were used to calculate the traffic impacts.

Some also questioned whether the traffic impacts of an event pavilion and a store to serve guests at the resort were factored into the traffic equation.

Nathan Jeffres, who operates the Ponderay Events Center with his wife, Jamie, said such facilities by their nature can come with baggage in the form of impaired driving, property crime, domestic disputes and littering.

“It’s a constant battle,” he said.

Landowners within the Idaho Club also raised concerns about the proposal.

“Where are all these people going to go?” asked Steve Holder, who answered the question by pointing to the golf club’s private cart paths over and around the river.

Some landowners suspected there were wetlands present on the site, although Planning Director Milton Ollerton said there are no federally mapped wetlands delineated on the site.

Glasoe proposed hours of operations for the store on grounds that it would serve other rural neighborhoods in the area in increase traffic.

Commissioner Matt Linscott recused himself because he knows some of the people who testified and was concerned it would affect his judgment.

Reeve questioned whether the project was in keeping with comprehensive land use goals to minimize adverse impacts to nearby landowners, particularly road and traffic impacts.

Bailey cast his dissenting vote without comment.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.