BONNERS FERRY — City councilors voted June 3 to rezone an 8.12-acre parcel west of the Boundary County Fairgrounds from industrial to commercial, clearing the way for a new school.

Upon sale of the parcel, the site’s old Kootenai River Lumber Company planer building is expected to be renovated into the North Idaho Classical Academy school facility, according to NICA’s conceptual designs presented to various county agencies. 

Last month, the broader 80-acre property was rezoned to mixed-use. However, rezoning the smaller parcel to commercial is expected to speed up the school development process. 

Schools are an allowed use in a commercial zone, so no additional permitting will be needed down the road. Had the area remained in a mixed-use zone, school development would require a conditional use permit. 

“If we had waited for the new zoning ordinances, it would have taken us that much more time,” said Jacob Francom, NICA president. 

Francom said the draft purchase and sale agreement needs a few tweaks, including legal descriptions for easements and a finalized phase two environmental assessment. Then it will go through the school’s legal team, the school board, and then to the property owner Marc Brinkmeyer and his team. 

“It’s looking very positive right now,” Francom said. 

Over the last several months, the NICA team has met with various county agencies to discuss how the school can fit as seamlessly as possible alongside existing community gathering points.  

With the Boundary County Fair Board, the team discussed how to be good neighbors and collaborators at board meetings over the last several months. The Classical Academy could eventually host some county fair events inside its facilities, such as in the school cafeteria or classrooms, Francom said. 

With the Boundary County Parks and Recreation Board, the parties discussed sharing green space for recess in exchange for shared park maintenance responsibilities. 

Boundary County commissioners have said that their biggest concern is the parking and traffic in the area. Fortunately, parking will be most needed outside of school hours, Francom said, such as in the summertime.  

The academy has a target opening date of fall 2026. 

“We’re not here to compete with the local school district,” Francom said. “We want to provide another option. We want to complement and support the local school district.”