County takes up watershed overlay district

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are taking up a proposal today to protect one of the county’s most cherished assets.

The commission is holding a public hearing at 6 p.m. today to consider a proposed watershed protection overlay district at the Bonner County Administration Building.

But the proposal to protect water quality is going before the board with contrary recommendations from advisory boards. The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission is recommending approval, while the Bonner County Property Rights Council is recommending denial.

The county and planning commissions began discussing the surface water protections in 2006. The planning commission formed an advisory subcommittee in 2008 to draft a watershed protection ordinance.

The ordinance, which was based on an existing county wellhead protection ordinance, would enable water districts, homeowner associations and other entities to apply for watershed protections in unincorporated sections of the county.

Junkyards, landfills, feedlots and hazardous materials manufacturing would be prohibited within an overlay district, while other uses such as quarries and small animal feeding operations would be permitted with special conditions.

The planning commission recommended on a 5-1 vote last year to approve the ordinance. But the property rights council issued a recommendation against the proposal this year, dubbing it a “zone of coercion overlay.”

The property rights council asserts that the proposal would enable a public water system to initiate a process that results in forcing landowners to give up their property rights without compensation.

n  A staff report on the overlay proposal and the property rights council’s recommendation can be downloaded from the county’s website (www.co.bonner.id.us).