District judge upholds Ledges approval

SANDPOINT — An embattled housing development proposed at Morton Slough notched a legal victory on Wednesday.

District Judge John T. Mitchell affirmed Bonner County commissioners’ approval of a conditional use permit for the Ledges Over Pend Oreille, a 33-lot planned unit development.

In a 17-page ruling, Mitchell found the commission properly considered the development plan against county codes and the comprehensive land use plan. Mitchell also rejected allegations that commissioners engaged in improper conduct by making their own inquiries into the International Fire Code’s application in Idaho.

The proposed development is on 370 acres, with half-dozen lots adjacent to the slough and Pend Oreille River and the rest perched on benches in the steep hillsides overlooking the river.

Neighboring landowners vigorously objected to the proposal, contending the rugged site was unsuitable for development and too close to the Morton Slough Wildlife Management area. They also argued Ledges was a fire trap because there would be only one way in or out.

The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission recommended in May 2008 that the project be denied because of fire access concerns. But county commissioners bypassed the recommendation and voted to approve the project several months later.

Five adjacent landowners subsequently filed suit, litigation which argued that the county was disregarding the International Fire Code by allowing a singular access point and roads with grades greater than 10 percent. They further argued in the petition for judicial review that commissioners relied on information not in the record when they consulted with commissioners from other counties about the IFC.

The fire code is not observed by Bonner County, although the Sagle Fire District has pledged to enforce the code on the Ledges Over Pend Oreille. Fire districts, however, have no sign-off authority on preliminary plats.

Mitchell concluded commissioners properly considered the evidence of fire danger and noted the public hearing testimony of Sagle Fire Chief Rob Goodyear, who said his department’s equipment could negotiate the steeper grades, although it would affect response time.

The fire code and county road-building codes allow for variances in grade when there are topographical considerations and a showing that emergency rigs can still traverse the proposed routes, Mitchell noted.

Mitchell also held that commissioners’ queries of other public officials amounted to an investigation of the fire code’s merits. Moreover, the contacts were with “relatively disinterested” parties and the nature of the contact was properly disclosed.

The suit also alleged no consideration was paid to the project’s proximity to the Morton Slough Wildlife Management Area, but Mitchell found that the county had galvanized nearly a dozen Idaho Department of Fish & Game recommendations into conditions of approval.

“Ultimately, the Board’s actions, although not favorable to the petitioners, were nevertheless in compliance with the IFC, Idaho laws, and the Bonner County Revised Code,” Mitchell wrote.

The project’s developer, Rich Curtis, was pleased with the court’s ruling.

“All the things that they threw at the wall to see what would stick didn’t stick,” Curtis said of opponents’ claims.

Curtis added that the project was meticulously designed to mitigate fire hazards and impacts to the hillside, which resulted in longer roads with lower profiles.

“We spent two and half years putting this together so we could do it right,” he said.