SANDPOINT — Applicants proposing an event center on private property will have to wait until next week to learn whether their file has been approved by the Bonner County hearing examiner for a second time after adjustments had been made to the file.  

The proposed event center will be located on a 60-acre property in Sandpoint and will include a covered pavilion and designated parking area.  

The first hearing on the conditional use permit occurred May 7, where hearing examiner Jacqueline Rucker approved the file with several conditions required to be met.  

After making several changes to the CUP application to limit the days of operation and include the use of portable potties instead of a bathroom facility, file applicant Richard Cook appealed two of the conditions set on the permit — the requirement to provide a copy of an approved septic permit from Panhandle Health District and create a transient non-community public water system with the help of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.  

According to Cook, he originally filled out the application to encompass 365 days of operation, with intentions of "no events planned to be held in the winter,” according to the CUP application. Cook noted that he adjusted the application to appropriately show the proposed event center as operating only 59 days a year, where DEQ requirements would be necessary if the proposed event center operated 60 days or more a year.  

Additionally, he noted adjustments to the bathroom system — the use of portable potties instead of constructing restrooms — to avoid the need of a septic permit.  

Based on the changes made to the application, Cook appealed the two file conditions, stating that they were no longer supported.  

During the appeal process, which includes a review by Bonner County commissioners, interim planning director Alex Feyen noted that applicants could take out or tweak applications but were not allowed to add information.  

The hour-and-a-half hearing to discuss the appeal resulted in the file being remanded to the hearing examiner due to the changes of the application. At that meeting, Commissioner Asia Williams discussed at length the need to have a proper procedure for amended files and how to approach a file that was reviewed previously with opposing information than what was proposed to the board.  

During the Oct. 1 public hearing, the CUP application was heard again by the hearing examiner, with the revised information included regarding days of operation and the switch of portable potties from a bathroom facility.  

The hearing examiner will have until Oct. 7 to make a decision on the revised file.