By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff
The Bonner County board of commissioners will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 9 a.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building on proposed changes to the County Code governing minor land divisions. The alterations, which have been in the works since March, would replace the MLD process with short and long subdivisions of 10 or fewer parcels or 11 or more parcels, respectively.
In March, former-Planning Director Jake Gabell approached the BOCC with concerns that the current MLD language led to “conflicting interpretations and inconsistent enforcement” that allowed developers to create de facto subdivisions without meeting the infrastructure requirements needed to support them.
“Although the MLD process was originally created to provide an efficient and cost-effective review pathway for smaller-scale land divisions, practical experience demonstrated that the reduced applicable standards sometimes resulted in developments that lack sufficient infrastructure,” said Interim Planning Director Alex Feyen at the Sept. 16 Planning Commission meeting. “These conditions created potential issues for emergency responders, increased the risk of fire hazards in rural areas, and, in certain cases, led to drainage or stormwater management concerns.”
The BOCC instituted an emergency moratorium on MLDs in April, giving the Planning Department time to workshop new code language and preventing developers from submitting last-minute applications before the changes went into effect.
The proposed revisions would ensure that all land divisions comply with the current requirements for subdivisions and undergo infrastructure and service capacity reviews to gauge developments’ impact on area schools, road networks, and water and sewer districts. It would also require sanitary restriction lifts and wastewater feasibility reviews from Panhandle Health District, which confirm that the parcels meet the requirements for water and sewage hookups.
After months of public workshops spent developing the code amendments, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the changes on Sept. 16, passing the final decision to the BOCC. The commissioners will vote on the changes on Oct. 16, 15 days after the moratorium’s expiration date on Oct. 1.
For more information, or to participate via Zoom, go to bonnercountyid.gov/events/94306.
