Waterfront code change hearing today

SANDPOINT — The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission is taking up a proposal tonight that would relax a waterfront development standard in unincorporated portions of the county.

A public hearing on the proposed code amendment is set for 6 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building.

The code change applies to impervious surfaces — rooftops, sidewalks, driveways and other hard surfaces that impede the infiltration of stormwater into the ground. The purpose of the maximum-coverage standard is to protect soil, surface water and groundwater resources.

The county’s land use code sets the maximum impervious surface coverage at 15 percent for parcels larger than an acre, 25 percent for sites 10,000 square feet to 1 acre and 35 percent for sites less than 10,000 square feet.

The current waterfront impervious surface standards has been in place since 2008.

Priest Lake landowners Kevin and Judith Sheffield are asking the county to replace those standards with an across-the-board 35 percent standard that would apply to parcels of any size.

The current 25 percent maximum standard for mid-sized lots is too stringent to allow modest development or additions to existing structures, according to the Coolin couple’s application to amend the code.

Advocates of the code change contend the current standard is overly restrictive and creates an undue hardship. They also maintain that the code change would simplify the issue without adversely impacting the environment, a Planning Department staff report said.

No public agencies have commented on the proposal yet.

The Planning Department supports the code modification because the 15- and 25-percent coverage standards have proven to be difficult to calculate, according to the staff report. Members of the Selkirk Association of Realtors have also expressed support for the code change.

The planning commission will make a recommendation supporting or opposing the code change to the county’s board of commissioners. County commissioners will hold their own hearing on the proposal at a later date.

• A copy of the staff report can be downloaded from the Planning Department’s website (www.co.bonner.id.us).