County planning department needs to change

When a land use abuse is a suspected pattern or to divert the same, a land use ordinance is formed in Bonner County. Starting at the Planning Commission and Planning staff. Public workshops are often offered for input. Then sent to the BOCC to alter, remand, or approve the intent statement and the standards of what is to be allowed and what is not allowed. Public comment is offered at this time also. All in a vacuum, intended to be followed and enforced as written.

When you, as a landowner, have a violator of an ordinance(s), you fill out a form with Planning, explain the ordinance(s) and violation(s), and provide pictures if available. The violation report goes to the "compliance queen," who will do nothing. What she does is ignore the ordinance in question, pick a sentence from unrelated ordinances, a sentence from Bonner County definitions, and rewords them, and stamps a big NO on the file. And the violators continue.

Planning management nor BOCC intervene to protect your property rights to live without the violation and enjoy your property, the statement the BOCC repeats in land hearings, but does not apply. Violations do not have a hearing. They go to the "compliance queen," and they get dumped just like the subcomp plans did, and many violations could fit within the standards of what “not to do” in the subcomp plans.

We need a change! Shall we just delete all land use ordinances and fire the Planning Department? Not really, but what are they doing for us?

Keep it real, 7B.

SUZANNE GLASOE

Sandpoint