SANDPOINT — In a 2-0 vote, county commissioners reversed the Bonner County Zoning Commission’s approval of a 20-unit RV park off Clagstone Road and Al’s Welding Road in Blanchard. 

The vote came after a nonconsecutive, two-day meeting where the board concluded that the conditional use permit for an RV park was not in compliance with Bonner County Revise Code or Idaho State Code.  

Commissioners Brian Domke and Ron Korn acknowledged letters submitted by county municipalities stating that the project site would not be adequately served by the Spirit Lake Fire Protection District, Panhandle Health District or Bonner County Sheriff’s Office. With the lack of proper services, the site would also not meet water and sewer standards as required by BCRC, county officials said.  

“The location of this (proposed RV park), in my opinion, is not a very suitable place to have this higher density use. And the fire is a huge concern,” said Korn. "Part of our job, sitting here today, is not only determining this, but we also need to take into account the public safety of those people that are going to be in that camp. That is our job.” 

It was additionally noted that the proposed plan did not comply with noise performance standards or downward lighting requirements — signifying that the plan did not preserve the rural atmosphere of the community.  

Another determining factor for the permit denial was its inability to meet BCRC parking standards. According to county code, an RV space must have a minimum area of 1,800 square feet and a minimum width of 24 feet. The proposed site only had a designated RV space of 1,000 square feet and was 20 feet wide.  

“I should simply rely on the applicant's information, and that information says it does not meet the requirements of the code,” said Domke. 

The conditional use permit for the 20-unit RV park in Blanchard has seen a four-year journey of approvals and reverses. The permit was originally submitted and approved by the Zoning Commission in 2021, where it was appealed and approved again in 2022 by the acting Bonner County Board of Commissioners. The application was appealed again to the First District Court in August 2023, where the commissioners’ approval was vacated.  

In November 2023, county commissioners approved the permit, where it was once more appealed to District Court a year later and vacated again.  

After a revisal of the application, the permit was approved by the Zoning Commission in April 2025.  

The July 7 permit denial was a result of the commission’s approval, where the zoning board voted in favor of the application after stating that the proposed site did not pose immediate hazards to the public or surrounding entities and that it complied with county code. According to the board’s decision, verbiage such as “may” and “might” in agency opposition letters did not indicate that an emergency would happen, only that it might.

    Proposed RV park site