SAGLE — The availability of sewer hookups, preserving the area’s rural ambiance and uncertainty surrounding the expansion of U.S. Highway 95 emerged as recurring themes during a land use workshop on Tuesday.

“Those were the big topics that came up,” said Bonner County land use Planner Lindsey King.

More than 50 people gathered at Sagle Elementary School to begin crystalizing an area-specific vision for development south of the Pend Oreille River.

The crowd was broken into a half-dozen smaller groups to discuss the Sagle area’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges.

“We think we got some really good foundation from them,” county Planning Director Milton Ollerton said.

Ollerton expects the planning department to conduct additional workshops to refine the land use vision for the Sagle area. Meanwhile, the county may form a committee to tailor a vision for the Selle Valley area.

“We’ll wait for direction from the board (of county commissioners and probably call for people interested in being on the committee,” Ollerton said.

The Planning Department has emphasized that the sub-area planning initiative will not be a rushed affair. Sub-area proposals will eventually be forwarded to the Planning & Zoning Commission, which will make recommendations to the county commission regarding adoption.

Sub-area plans will be folded into the county’s comprehensive land use plan.

“A comprehensive plan is kind one-size-fits-all and, obviously, Sagle and Selle are different,” said King.

Ollerton said sub-area planning for the Priest River and Blanchard areas is expected to start in the next several months.