Controversy is about public right of way, access

The Camp Bay issue has been confused by inaccurate information from many sources. For instance, the story that ran in the Oct. 25 edition of the Bee regarding a court challenge of the decision by Bonner County to give away a half mile of Camp Bay Road to a private developer contains grievous inaccuracies that no doubt created more confusion.

The article misstated the past status of the road. Camp Bay Road has been a public road, belonging to the public, since 1908. In 2021, the Bonner County Commissioners voted to give the last half mile away to a private developer. The road was not on an easement, or any property owned by the developer, but on a public right-of-way owned by the county. 

The reporter also mischaracterized the nature of the controversy. The objections are not over the Camp Bay development, per se (though there are concerns about the development’s impact on water quality and the fact that it is to be gated), but more about the abandonment of a public right-of-way that provided access to Lake Pend Oreille. 

Also, a letter published in the Nov. 7 Bee mistakenly suggests that the public lake access at the end of the Camp Bay Road is much more than 50 feet wide. Because the road right-of-way is only 50 feet wide, that’s all the public can legitimately claim.

Thanks for the opportunity to help set the record straight.

SUSAN DRUMHELLER

Sagle