Confrontation at Camp Bay

SAGLE — A confrontation over a misunderstanding over an alleged beachfront in the Camp Bay area led to law enforcement being called to the disputed site.

On June 25, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about a fight in progress on the easement for Camp Bay Road.

Eyewitness video of the incident is provided on 50feet.net/the-beach-incident/, as well as the recorded 911 call and bodycam footage. Deputies defended public access, citing briefings from Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler as well as the joint statement between Wheeler and Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall.

The stretch of land in question is the road width (50 feet across), and extends from the artificial high water mark until the natural or ordinary high water mark of Lake Pend Oreille.

M3 developers asked the county to vacate the last half-mile of Camp Bay Road in February of 2021, and the board voted in favor of the move later that month.

The Arns filed suit last May after Bonner County commissioners voted to vacate the final portion of the road, almost 3 acres of public property. The Board said it was in the public’s interest for the county to no longer have to maintain the 2,550 feet portion of road.

In their lawsuit, the couple challenged the decision and said the commissioners did not have the right to vacate the road for a variety of reasons. Among the complaints was that the commissioners failed to evaluate whether the road vacation was in the public interest and that at the time there was a conflict of interest involving members of the Road and Bridge Department.

First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer found in favor of the Arns in November of 2021, ruling the decision to vacate the road was not supported with substantial evidence, and that the commissioners exercised an “abuse of discretion” by cutting off a speaker during public comment.

This year in February, commissioners voted to void the vacation but said they were unable to determine where Camp Bay Road ended and asked for a judge to make that determination.

“At this point I can’t make a decision either way until I can find out what’s going on with this lake access — whether it truly exists or not,” Commission Chair Dan McDonald said near the end of the Feb. 16 meeting.

However, according to deputies, until a decision is made public access will be allowed. In a May 16 press release, Sheriff Daryl Wheeler and Prosecutor Louis Marshall said “the county can neither permit nor prohibit a public gathering” within the 50-foot zone on the shore.

While that may sound ambiguous, the responding deputies interpreted the press release as protecting public access until there is a clear ruling from the court.

On video, one of the responding deputies explained “it’s under litigation … there has not been a resolution on that litigation. Until then, [public access is] to the water.”

“The sheriff has briefed me. … Fifty feet, post to post, all the way to the water, is public property,” the deputy reiterated. The only conclusion from the confrontation was that the “no trespassing” signs posted by M3 were “unlawful.” M3 cofounder Bill Brownlee, who was present for the confrontation, promised to remove the signs the following Monday. They have now been repositioned to the side of the fifty foot stretch.

The call to dispatch came from a concerned Camp Bay resident, who said they could see the interaction from a distance. However, all of the parties involved told officers that the discussion, while at times heated, remained peaceful for its entirety.

It was this interaction between the two sides that led to their negotiations last month. There had been a court hearing scheduled for July 6 that was rescheduled for Aug. 10. The parties spent that month on negotiations which ultimately fell through.

The August hearing concluded with Judge Meyer saying she anticipated remanding the decision back to county commissioners. However, the specificity of any future decisions by the commissioners or by the court remains at issue.

“You have given me much more to think about in terms of parameters of remand,” Meyer concluded.

To read the court’s written decision when it comes down, or to review the court minutes and other documents for this case, use the public access computer bank at the Bonner County Courthouse in Sandpoint.

Information: The case number is CV09-22-0316.