SANDPOINT — Bonner County is suing to shut down an illegal junkyard allegedly being operated in Samuels.

The county alleges the junkyard is being operated on land owned by Marcella Phillips in the 300 block of Hines Road. It is seeking a permanent injunction to shut down the operation.

Under the county’s land use code, junkyards are not permitted in Agricultural/Forestry zoning districts with 10-acre parcels. A junkyard is defined as a collection of scrap materials and four or more vehicles that are inoperable or unregistered.

The Bonner County Planning Department received a complaint about several derelict vehicles and large piles of trash and debris in March 2015. Phillips was notified twice by mail of the violation and a site visit in June of last year confirmed the presence of junked vehicles and scrap, according to a suit filed in 1st District Court on April 28.

Phillips said the property would be cleared by September or October of last year, but there was further no headway, court documents allege.

A third and fourth warning letters were subsequently issued, with the latter correspondence advising Phillips that litigation was imminent if the violation was not abated. The county filed suit upon learning that the situation was getting worse rather than better.

“In fact, the county is informed and believes, and on that basis alleges, the amount of garbage and other waste material on the site has increase,” Deputy Prosecutor William Wilson said in the civil complaint.