Waterfront code change stirs concern
SANDPOINT — A waterfront development standard could be easing, but some are concerned water quality would suffer as a result.
The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission voted Thursday to endorse a land use code amendment which would replace a tiered standard for calculating impervious surfaces with a single uniform standard.
The board of county commissioners has the final say on whether to amend the code. A hearing date is pending.
The code change applies to impervious surfaces such as a rooftops, sidewalks, driveways and other hard surfaces that hinder the infiltration of stormwater into the ground. The impervious surfaces standard is meant to protect ground and surface water resources.
The standard caps impervious surface coverage at 15 percent for parcels bigger than an acre and at 25 percent for parcels between 10,000 square feet to an acre. The maximum coverage is 35 percent for parcels less than 10,000 square feet.
The code change proposed by Coolin landowners Kevin and Judith Sheffield would replace the graduated scale with an across-the-board, 35-percent standard for waterfront properties in unincorporated portions of the county.
Not including state and federal lease lots, Bonner County has about 3,000 waterfront parcels covering about 12,106 acres of private land, according to the Bonner County Assessor’s database records.
“A majority of these lots fall into that 25-percent category,” said Planning Director Clare Marley.
Proponents of the code change testified on Thursday that graduated scale is too restrictive and cumbersome. Some expressed concern that it would cause landowners to build up if they were prevented from building out.
“I see that as one of the results of the existing ordinance,” said Debbie Ferguson, a real estate agent.
Other real estate and design professionals told the planning commission that the large amount of government-owned waterfront in Bonner County would add a layer of protection. Moreover, there are a host of other measures — setbacks, stormwater management plans and vegetative buffers — that safeguard water quality.
“We are convinced there are other adequate provisions,” said Raphael Barta, president of the Selkirk Association of Realtors, whose members and customers also support the code amendment.
But some urged the county to postpone a decision on the issue so the proposal could studied further and allow more time for the public to consider it.
The impacts of impervious cover can result in higher peak flows, runoff volumes and stream channel erosion. Additionally, stormwater runoff can be laden with pollutants such as suspended solids, nutrients, hydrocarbons and pesticides
Molly O’Reilly described Bonner County’s gin-clear waterways as the community’s lifeblood.
“I don’t think it’s unfair to have protections,” she said. “Let’s be extra careful. Let’s not give it away.”
The Center for Watershed Protection calculates that stream habitat generally diminishes at 10 percent impervious cover and becomes severely degraded beyond 25 percent.
Susan Drumheller urged the commission to cap the coverage at 25 percent and retain the existing standards for homes being developed near streams.
“The science seems to really support that we really need to limit impervious surfaces around streams,” she said.
But the project applicant’s representative, Marty Taylor, emphasized that the matter has been studied thoroughly by the county over the years and the graduated scale demonstrably does not work.
“This ordinance is so simple that it hurts,” Taylor said.
The commission ultimately voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the code change.
“The 35-percent impervious surface standard that’s proposed is a pretty good compromise,” said planning Commissioner Steve Temple.