SAGLE — Residents are appealing the Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission’s permit approval to allow an asphalt batch plant at an existing gravel pit on the west side of U.S. Highway 95.

The planning commission conditionally approved the batch plant at Frank Linscott’s surface mine in November, which aims to bring permanency to an industrial use that has been temporarily allowed over the years. Neighboring landowners and residents have doggedly opposed batch-plant operations at the gravel pit due to noxious emissions and noise pollution. The plant is also seen as a threat to well and aquifer water quality.

The P&Z panel recommended approval of allowing Interstate Concrete & Asphalt to install a batch plant at the gravel pit, but a previous board of county commissioners ultimately denied the approval, holding that the proposal was incongruous with the goals and objectives of the county’s comprehensive land use plan.

Following a changeover in the county commission’s composition, the batch plant proposal resurfaced earlier this year and was approved by P&Z.

Supporters argued the plant would eliminate a 15-minute, round-trip commute Interstate trucks were making picking up source material in Sagle and delivering it to an existing batch plant in Sandpoint, which drives down costs for both private- and public-sector consumers. Opponents maintain that the batch plant does not fit with the rapidly growing residential uses adjacent to the pit and packs public health risks, especially among those with preexisting health conditions.

The approval by P&Z gave rise to an administrative appeal of the decision, in addition to a petition drive on change.org that had garnered more than 200 signatures opposing the project as of Friday evening.

The board of county commissioners, meanwhile, is scheduled to take up the appeal during a 9 a.m. hearing on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, at the Bonner County Administration Building.

Appellants contend the county’s approval of a conditional use permit for the project was neither legal nor supported by substantial evidence in the public record. They further argue that the decision does not square with the county’s land use code or comp plan.

“We believe this application needs further consideration, allowing additional fact-finding in regard to the health, safety, financial and environmental impacts upon Bonner County residents and real property owners,” the appellants said in a Dec. 11 notice of appeal.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.