P&Z approves Blanchard waste site

SANDPOINT — A proposal to construct a full-service solid waste collection site in Blanchard is in the bag.

The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the facility on March 5.

“We didn’t have any opposition and they approved it,” said Leslie Marshall, the county’s solid waste director.

Marshall said bids for the project will be accepted until April 7. The new site at the corner of Highway 41 and Paisley Road is scheduled to be constructed this season and ready for the public’s use this summer.

Constructing new solid waste sites can sometimes be contentious affairs, although county officials anticipated no opposition to the Blanchard site because it would have minimal impact on surrounding landowners.

The 2 1/4-acre waste site sits on a 19-acre parcel.

The attended site will be encircled with a 30-foot-wide buffer of trees and the access road would be paved to eliminate fugitive dust. Downcast lighting will be utilized to avoid light pollution.

The site will have eight 8-yard Dumpsters, four or five 50-yard roll-off containers and four 8-yard recycling containers.

The new site would spare Blanchard residents of the 24-mile round trip journey to the county’s collection site on Idaho Hill in Oldtown. It’s also hoped the new facility will reduce illegal dumping in southwestern Bonner County.