New waste site approved

PRIEST RIVER — The proposed Peninsula Valley waste collection site is a go after it was approved by a unanimous vote of approval of the Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission during a public hearing Tuesday night in Priest River.

The hearing granted a conditional use permit to develop the new site at 911 East River Road, pursuant to an established lighting plan as well as approval from the Public Works Department and Department of Environmental Quality.

Anticipated to be the answer to the troubled Green Owl site, the permit comes after a citizen’s advisory board spent the last 11 months evaluating potential sites north of town and county commissioners unanimously adopted their recommendations.

“We have met with the neighbors in close proximity of the above mentioned property and have received their approval,” the committee said in a letter of recommendation.

County officials initially planned to develop a site in the 1200 block of Peninsula Road, but ran into stiff opposition from adjacent landowners.

Appraised at $75,000, the 4.8-acre parcel of undeveloped ground would be set back from the road to make room for a West Pend Oreille Fire District substation expected to be built in the next few years.

The gated site would be ringed with a 40-foot-wide buffer and there would be a 100-square-foot attendant’s station and a 100-square-foot hazardous materials building.  There would be six 8-yard dumpsters for household waste and four 8-yard recycling bins, according to the application.

There would also be four or five 50-yard roll -off containers for bulky items and metal, yard and wood waste as well as a small area set aside for discarded items which can be reused.

Downcast lighting would be utilized and the Idaho Fish & Game is recommending that bear-proof containers be utilized and the retention of standing timer and snags.

With the unanimous approval construction on the two-phase project estimated to cost $200,000 to $300,000 is expected to begin in the spring of next year.

“The old site was less than two-acres, which was not enough space and would have left the containers close to the road.  The new site will not be visible from the street and will be bordered with trees and shrubs,” citizen’s advisory board member Shelly Stafford said.  Adding, “We will also now be able to generate money from recycling that we couldn’t at the other site.”

It’s anticipated the site would see 50-75 vehicles a day in the summer and 25-35 during the winter.  The site would be open to the public from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

Trash from the new site would be transferred to the county’s Colburn site for shipment to the Columbia Ridge landfill in Oregon.

Bonner County Daily Bee news editor Keith Kinnaird contributed to this story.