After months of waiting, the Panhandle Bike Ranch has achieved federal recognition from the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The designation is a milestone in founders Jennifer and Scott Kalbach’s yearslong journey to bring the park into regular operation — a goal that has been slowed by area opposition.
Developers applied for and received a conditional use permit in 2024 to construct the downhill mountain biking course — labeled a recreational facility — on 170 acres of steep terrain zoned Rural-10 off of Five Lakes Estates in Sagle. After repeated appeals by nearby residents, the First Judicial Court of Idaho vacated the CUP in 2025, stating that the Bonner County Board of Commissioners “failed to list facts supporting” its initial approval.
The park operated throughout the summer of 2025 without a CUP by accepting donations rather than user fees or subscriptions, thereby skirting the commercial designation and eliminating the need for a CUP. PBR filed articles of incorporation with the state to become a 501(c)(3) organization in September of that year, eliminating the commercial aspects indefinitely. The nonprofit’s board later requested that the county change its listed land use designation from a “recreational facility” to a “park,” which is automatically permitted in rural zoning districts and therefore does not require a CUP. Bonner County Revised Code 12-816 defines a park as a “noncommercial facility designed to serve the recreational needs of the residents of the community.”
A rider drops from a feature at the Panhandle Bike Ranch in Sagle. Courtesy photo
The Planning Department and then-Interim Planning Director Alex Feyen denied the reclassification request, and subsequently denied PBR’s application for a building location permit to construct its welcome center and bathrooms, arguing that developers needed the CUP to qualify for the location permit. PBR attempted to appeal both decisions to the commissioners, who, in January 2026, voted 2-0 to deny the permit application and did not review the land use designation, which is an administrative decision under the Planning Department.
Jennifer Kalbach told the Reader that PBR “will not be resubmitting a building location permit at this time.”
“Panhandle Bike Ranch was already an Idaho nonprofit corporation when we applied for the building location permit,” stated Kalbach. “The county required us to install a public well and public septic system, and we complied with all of their requirements. Despite that, they denied our permit on the basis that they believed the facility was for commercial use, ignoring our nonprofit status.”
PBR filed a petition for legal review of the land use designation decision in January, and litigation is ongoing.
“What we are seeking is for Bonner County to recognize us as what we are under their own code: a park,” stated Kalbach.
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