SANDPOINT — Bonner County officials are contemplating whether they have legal or moral obligations to develop or require additional access points in neighborhoods dependent on single at-grade railroad crossings.

The Bonner County Planning Commission and county commissioners conducted a joint workshop on Thursday to parse through the issue, which has grown along with the pressure of more development and lengthier trains. Landowners behind the crossing could find themselves sealed in if disaster strikes. Emergency personnel, meanwhile, would be sealed out if the crossing is blocked or otherwise unusable.

“It’s a question that needs to be addressed,” planning Commissioner Don Davis said during the discussion.

The at-grade crossing on Kootenai Bay Road, which serves the Whiskey Jack and Ponder Point neighborhoods was viewed a Exhibit A in the discussion. There are already 250 parcels that would be affected by a closure or blockage and the area still has a good deal of residential development potential, which could endanger an even greater number of people.

“The risk of that grows with it,” said county Commissioner Steve Bradshaw.

Davis identified several potential alternative or emergency routes which could be developed to create secondary access.

“There are relief valves that can be put in place,” Davis said.

Davis said the transportation element of Idaho’s Local Land Use Planning Act appeared to create an opportunity where county officials could establish goals for ensuring the establishment of secondary access routes in neighborhoods with only one at-grade crossing.

“It’s a good test case,” Davis said of the Kootenai Bay Road crossing.

However, it also raised the question of who should be responsible for paying for alternative access points. Moreover, if the county were to undertake the effort at Kootenai Bay Road, it would set a costly precedent because there are at least 28 other at-grade crossings across Bonner County which could need alternative access.

“You can’t do just the one crossing. What (precedent) does that open?” said county Commissioner Jeff Connolly.

Planning and county commissioners discussed developing a ranking for the crossings according to population and expected development.

“There’s another component here — they chose to live there,” said county Commissioner Dan McDonald, who does not believe the county has a legal liability to create secondary access routes.

Officials said landowners could form local improvement districts in order to tax themselves and pay for such improvements. Developers could also factor in the cost of secondary access route establishment into the cost of the lots they sell.

“There are ways to address it,” Davis said.

No firm conclusions emerged during the workshop.

“This is new territory. We haven’t gone here before,” Connolly said.

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