An organization of Stateline residents is concerned that the Kootenai County Community Development Department has been influenced by a private contracting company trying to expedite a project's approval.

Representatives of Stateline Association for Rural Preservation argue that Verdis, formerly E2 Planning and Design, guided the county to work around the specifications of a court remand in efforts to obtain a permit for a wedding venue in a rural zone.

"E2 Planning said, 'This is what we want,' and the county said, 'OK,'" said Jay Fromkin, SARP representative.

But the group has it all wrong, said Scott Clark, department director, adding that misinformation has been spread about the controversial proposed project.

"It's incorrect on all fronts," he said.

Fromkin and other SARP members are neighbors opposed to the proposed use of a barn on Stateline Road as a venue for weddings and other events, which they predict will increase noise, traffic and shenanigans in their remote area.

The First District Court ruled last November that the county's classification of the project as a commercial use was wrong, and remanded the case, directing the county determine the correct classification.

Fromkin is worried the county is considering a proposed amendment to county code that will redefine commercial resorts and allow for the venue.

He believes E2 Planning, representing the barn owners, wrote the amendment, and that the county has adopted as its own.

"I think the relationship between (Community Development Department) and E2 Planning is extremely accommodating," he said.

A text amendment is not what Judge John Mitchell requested in the remand, Fromkin believes.

"He did not say 'consider a text amendment,'" Fromkin said. "He said it must be remanded for proper classification."

His group also worries the county didn't follow proper procedure with the project application.

The applicants, Beth and David Tysdal, withdrew the application in 2008, he pointed out. The county kept the case file open until they moved forward in 2009, which he finds strange.

"It should no longer have been an active application," Fromkin said, adding that the remanded case should start over at the Planning and Zoning Commission.

All wrong, Clark said.

First, no text amendment has been proposed, he said.

E2 Planning only submitted its suggestion for a text amendment during the public comment period for the project.

It will be considered by county staff and officials just like all public comments, Clark said.

"Some (comments) can say, 'I don't like this.' Some can say, 'I'd like it if you could do it this way,' and that is this one," he said. "'Here are our ideas, why don't you consider this?'"

The county didn't close the case file in 2008 because discussions about it were ongoing, he said, as the Tysdals evaluated their options.

"Five months later they said, 'Yeah, we want to move forward,' and since we hadn't closed the file or refunded the money, we moved forward," Clark said. "Which isn't out of the ordinary. Some clients' applications can take a long time to move forward."

The commissioners will hold a hearing on Thursday evening to determine the right classification of the venue.

Clark acknowledged that an outcome could be a text amendment to allow the use, or to establish a whole new classification.

"That's what the process is for, is to determine if there is a need to amend or recognize a use that's not found in the code," Clark said, adding that this doesn't mean the county would adopt the amendment E2 Planning proposed.

The commissioners could also determine the use should not be allowed, Clark said.

The hearing over the remanded case is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in Room 1 of the county Administration Building.

Representatives of Verdis could not be reached for comment.

At a hearing earlier this year, the county Planning and Zoning Commission voted that the proposed use doesn't conform to any county classification.

The commission was not in favor of pursuing a text amendment.

Anyone with questions can take them to the Community Development Department, Clark said.

"We can talk about this process. We can talk about how people can engage and provide comment," he said.