Panhandle Bike Ranch founder offers to drop BoCo lawsuit
September 30, 2026
No decision made in potential Idaho Supreme Court appeal
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Though little official headway has been made regarding the land use dispute between Bonner County and the Panhandle Bike Ranch, co-founder Scott Kalbach announced Sept. 29 that the nonprofit would drop its current lawsuit against the county if the commissioners dropped their countersuit. The suit, which came into effect in January 2026, challenges the county’s denial of an appeal to define PBR as a park under Bonner County Code.
The Sagle nonprofit sits on 170 acres zoned Rural 10, which only allows for commercial activity with a conditional use permit.
PBR founders Scott and Jennifer Kalbach applied for and received a CUP in 2024 and began construction of the multi-million-dollar downhill mountain biking facility. After repeated appeals from neighboring property owners, who objected to increased traffic and potential noise and dust pollution on the shared dirt road, the court vacated the CUP in 2025, finding that the Bonner County Board of Commissioners “failed to list facts supporting its decision” to approve the development.
The Kalbachs then transitioned PBR into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, believing the now non-commercial entity could operate without a CUP. PBR’s newly formed board then petitioned the county to change its land use designation from a “recreational facility” to “park,” which Bonner County Revised Code 12-816 defines as a “non-commercial facility designed to serve the recreational needs of the residents of the community.”
Unlike recreational facilities, parks are an allowed use in Rural 10 zoning and therefore do not require a CUP. Then-interim Planning Director Alex Feyen denied the redesignation request, along with a building location permit application, and instructed the nonprofit to reapply for its CUP.
One of the trails at the Panhandle Bike Ranch. Photo courtesy of Panhandle Bike Ranch
“When we asked for an appeal to the board of commissioners, Deputy Prosecutor Nate Adams said the decision wasn’t appealable,” said Kalbach at the Sept. 29 Bonner County business meeting. “Everyone we’ve talked to about this situation — both land use consultants and attorneys — has said, ‘That’s ridiculous. Of course a decision from an interim planning director is appealable.’ So, we asked a judge to take a look at it since we were denied an appeal from Bonner County.”
PBR filed for legal review in January 2026 before opening to riders in the spring using a donation-based system. The county subsequently filed a cease-and-desist letter in May, which PBR refused to comply with until an injunction by the First District Court in July shuttered all operations for the remainder of the season while allowing for use by the Kalbachs’ family and personal friends.
The nonprofit then filed a motion for permissive appeal in August, requesting to argue the injunction order before the Idaho Supreme Court. No decision has been made as of press time.
“The core argument is fundamentally a property rights issue: The county’s only real complaint was mandatory-sounding donation language on the website, yet the injunction goes far beyond that, stripping the owners of the basic right to conduct lawful activity on their own land unless it falls within personal use by family and close personal relationships,” wrote organizers on PBR’s website.
The January lawsuit and subsequent countersuit by Bonner County remain unresolved; however, according to Kalbach, PBR is in the process of resubmitting its application for a CUP, as was negotiated as part of the June injunction.
“At that point, we asked if Bonner County would be willing to dismiss the lawsuit since we agreed to come back for a conditional use permit,” said Kalbach. “The Bonner County Commissioner said ‘No,’ they would not dismiss it. Then, we asked if we could at least discuss a solution via mediation. And again, Bonner County Commissioner said, ‘No.’ They refused to even have a discussion about it. So, we’re stuck in a lawsuit that we want to drop since we’re coming back for a conditional use permit, and it’s costing us and the taxpayers a lot of money.”
The commissioners, who, per legal advice, do not publicly discuss ongoing litigation, did not respond to Kalbach’s comments.
PBR had yet to file its newest CUP application as of press time. Once submitted, the application will be available to the public at bonnercountyid.gov/current-projects.
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