Board taking up appeals code change

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are taking up a proposal to remove criteria for appealing land use decisions.

The board is scheduled to consider the proposal during a public hearing on Feb. 16.

The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission remanded the proposal back to the Planning Department for further analysis following a public hearing on Jan. 21.

Under current county code, an appealing party carries the burden of demonstrating that the planning commission acted capriciously or overreached its authority. Appellants can also earn an appeal hearing if a decision does not comport with the public record or there is a showing that the commission acted illegally.

The enumerated appeal criteria would be removed and those seeking redress could appeal directly to the county commission for a final decision under the proposed code amendment.

The proposal drew only objections during last month’s public hearing. Critics of the code change argued the criteria effectively thwart frivolous appeals and ensured the public record developed at the planning commission-level would be utilized in fashioning a land use decision.

Concerns were also raised that county commissioners would be overrun with appeals and that the new process could be used to conduct an end-zone run around the county’s land use code.

The proposal is part of a broader effort by county commissioners to make land use regulation less burdensome to landowners.