Multiple amendments made to county code

SANDPOINT — Code amendments that county officials say will expedite implementation of zoning changes were approved by Bonner County commissioners this week.

Commissioners Dan McDonald and Steve Bradshaw both voted to approve amendments 7 and 13. Jeff Connolly was absent.

After two delays caused noticing issues and clerical errors, AM0007-22 was brought before the commissioners at the hearing examiner meeting Wednesday.

Chad Chambers said it was designed to expedite implementation of zoning changes, noting that the online zoning map is now more important than physical maps, can be updated more rapidly and, in many ways, rendered physical as well as supplemental zoning maps obsolete since the online map can be zoomed in.

In 12-31, the code now states the official zoning map “shall be updated on a continuous basis as zone changes are approved by the board and upon publication,” rather than recognizing the “official” zoning map as the physical rendition in the Planning Department’s office. That section was also amended to mandate the posting of the ordinance number and effective date of the zone change on the online map as well.

While the amendment is ultimately aimed at improving efficiency and clarity of zone changes, its hearing had been delayed since June. It was to be heard June 23, but noticing concerns prompted its delay. A new date, Sept. 21 was selected, but due to typos in the final draft the item was struck from the agenda.

Amendment 13 was also passed at the meeting. AM0013-22 saw what Planning Director Jacob Gabell framed as a necessary cleanup of the application and appeals processes to the county.

The code was modified to allow applicants for amendments to the county code more room to advocate for a change, by changing the verbiage from why the request is “necessary” to the “reason” for the request. The code also now clearly states that applications for zone changes must be weighed against the standards and specifications for zoning.

Another change to the code was the recognition of the hearing examiner to approve conditional use permits, a role that had been the responsibility of the Zoning Commission. This is an effort to better balance the workload, due to the recent uptick in applications, Gabell said.

Another section was modified to eliminate the unique appeals process for a variance application. Now an appeal is governed by 12-26, with the same standards for all other administrative decisions.

That code section was also changed to clarify the standards for appealing the final decision of a commission or the hearing examiner. Now the appeal will need to demonstrate that the decision in question was unconstitutional or against statute, not within the authority of the commission or hearing examiner, made upon unlawful procedure, or, lastly, was arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion or unsupported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole.

To read the full text, search “AM0007-22” or “AM0013-22” at BonnerCountyID.org.