Neighbors oppose Green Owl relocation plan

PRIEST RIVER - A plan to relocate the Green Owl waste collection site in western Bonner County is drawing sharp hoots of disapproval from adjacent landowners on Peninsula Road.

The county has been contemplating the closure of the existing site near the near the Green Owl Tavern for years. The unattended Dumpster site north of Priest River has a lengthy track record of causing headaches for county officials because of illegal dumping and the mess it creates.

Bulk items such as appliances are routinely discarded at the site and building contractors have been using it to deposit construction waste and dodge fees they would be charged at attended sites, such as the Idaho Hill transfer station in Oldtown.

The county purchased property in the 1200 block of Peninsula Road late last year to develop an attended waste collection site.

But the plan to move the site south of its current location and closer to Highway 57 is generating strong objections from adjacent neighbors.

“For a lot of reasons, we just cannot let this happen here,” said nearby landowner Rod Stafford.

“We're the only ones who are going to pay the price if this happens.”

Stafford and his neighbors contend the relocation project would diminish their property values and bring a host of public safety and environmental impacts. Opponents have drafted a letter of protest to county commissioners which outlines a grocery list of objections and concerns.

Opponents maintain the new site would inundate their rural neighborhood with traffic, noise, odors and other nuisances. There are also concerns that it would increase the chances of bear encounters, threaten groundwater and expose neighbors to airborne pathogens associated with putrescible waste, used diapers and other human detritus, according to the protest letter.

Neighbors also say they feel disenfranchised because the project is has progressed thus far without public input.

“That was one of the things that set the fire burning - no permitting or vetting or public review process preceded the spending of $70,000 on the property for that process,” Stafford said.

But Commission Chairman Joe Young emphasizes that the relocation effort is anything but the “done deal” opponents perceive it to be.

“All we did was purchase a piece of property we thought would meet our needs there,” Young said on Tuesday.

The county is also planning on holding a community workshop in Priest River this winter to discuss the project and potential alternatives.

Commissioner Cornel Rasor said the project would be subject to public scrutiny through the conditional-use permit process.

“The county has to follow the same procedure the public does,” he said.

Leslie Marshall, the county's solid waste director, said the existing site cannot be improved or expanded because much of it is located on the Peninsula Road right of way. She said the site would be screened with landscaping.

The Green Owl site is one of several remaining unattended waste sites in the county. The other remaining sites are located at Laclede, Wrenco and Lakeview.

But the Green Owl remains the most troublesome, according to Marshall, who said the site is most often abused by out-of-state building contractors looking to dump construction waste. The county charges $13 per cubic yard of construction waste at select collection sites.

“They bring it over from Washington and dump it,” said Marshall.

Marshall said attended sites are well-kept and disputes the contention that securing the site will lead to an increase in drive-by dumping after hours.

“That is actually rare,” she said of people who ditch their garbage at the gate.

Stafford acknowledges the Green Owl site is a problem, but remains firm that  a new site should not be put in their neighborhood.

“We're not crazy,” he said. “We just want to stop this.”