Vay rezone hearing postponed

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners postponed a public hearing on a contested comprehensive land use plan amendment and rezone in Vay on Wednesday.

County commission Chairman Dan McDonald advised a sizable crowd that turned up for the hearing that applicant Daum Construction submitted new information which changed the proposal enough justify a postponement.

The new information was not disclosed on Wednesday, although McDonald said it will be posted to the planning department's portion of the county's website (bonnercountyid.gov) when it becomes available. McDonald said the postponement was made in the interest of transparency.

"This will allow you folks access to the information," McDonald said of the postponement.

The hearing was rescheduled for April 28. The time of the hearing is pending.

Daum Construction is seeking the comp plan change and rezone in order to subdivide a 160-acre parcel for housing development on the east side of Spirit Lake Cutoff Road north of Chip N Dale Lane. The rezone would drop the lot-size minimums from 10-20 acres to five to 10 acres.

Developers contend the requests are apt due to the growing demand for real estate in northern Idaho.

Existing landowners, however, are not rolling out the welcome mat for a proposal they say will erode the rural character of the area and invite a host of problems associated with urban areas — overly dense housing, traffic congestion, noise and pollution. Opponents also contend the development will chip away at a decreasing amount of prime agricultural lands in Bonner County

Opponents also contend the project jeopardizes water quality in Hoodoo Creek and the underlying aquifer.

The project's representative has declined to comment on the concerns raised by Bonner County landowners.

Those who turned out for Wednesday's hearing grumbled about having driven from the other side of Bonner County to take part in the proceeding only to arrive and learn that it was called off. Others objected to the applicant being able to change the application at the last minute.

Robert Wheeler told commissioners a modification to the proposal would not persuade opponents to suddenly embrace the project.

"It won't change our opinion anyway," Wheeler told commissioners as he left the hearing room.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.