County approves emergency moratorium, last minute agenda amendment

SANDPOINT — Emergency efforts were a major point of discussion at Tuesday’s business meeting as county commissioners approved a temporarily confidential moratorium for minor land divisions.  

Jake Gabell, Bonner County planning director, requested the approval of the moratorium after an emergency agenda amendment.  

To address conflicts, a moratorium is requested so that the planning department can review and hold workshops to amend code sections relating to minor land divisions and family exemption applications.

According to a memorandum, the moratorium would address conflicting interpretations of code and inconsistent enforcement of minor land divisions procedures.  

The proposed moratorium would be in place for 182 days (Sept. 23, 2025) or until the BOCC reviews and approves appropriate code changes. 

“These processes [minor land division and family exemption] have led to under-regulated land divisions and often lack adequate infrastructure, presenting long-term challenges for emergency access, fire protection and storm water management,” said Gabell. 

As it stands, current Bonner County Revised Code regarding land divisions is left up for interpretation by the commissioners and applicants. In turn, inconsistency can lead to inadequate infrastructure, increased wildfire risk, drainage, flooding hazards and limited emergency access.   

“These are administrative decisions that should not be in any amount of gray. They should be black and white,” he said.  

Upon the approval of an emergency moratorium, no new minor land divisions or family exemption applications would be accepted, reviewed or approved, according to BCRC. Residents are still allowed to sell, lease, retain traditional property rights and develop in accordance with zoning laws. 

The moratorium for minor land divisions and family exemption applications passed with a 2-1 vote, with Commissioners Asia Williams and Brian Domke voting in favor and Ron Korn voting against. 

In order to approve the moratorium without conflict, the planning department requested that the agenda item be added before the meeting started instead of the normal Friday deadline.  

Bill Wilson of the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office began Tuesday’s meeting by asking commissioners to amend the agenda to include an emergency moratorium for minor land divisions and family extensions.  

According to the Idaho Open Meetings Act, Wilson said, a short-notice agenda amendment can be approved by the board when there’s an emergency of health, safety or welfare. Wilson noted that if the item had been added to the agenda in a timely manner, it would have defeated the purpose of a moratorium. 

“We wouldn’t follow the ordinary notice process because we’re trying to stop a land use process that we believe impacts health, safety and welfare,” said Wilson. “By putting it on a previous agenda, we would be providing notice to people who want that application to be submitted before we institute the moratorium.” 

Wilson also gave public notice that an individual had leaked information regarding the emergency moratorium, resulting in a submission of seven applications before the moratorium would come into effect.  

“Somebody shared this information, and that's just an example of what we were trying to avoid, because we want these things to stop. So that's the reason for the urgency, because we wanted to stop as much of that occurring as possible,” said Wilson.  

All commissioners approved the amended agenda.