PRIEST RIVER — Jake Gabell was sworn in Wednesday as the city’s new Planning and Zoning administrator, replacing longtime city planner Bryan Quayle, who recently retired. 

Gabell graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in economics and is scheduled to earn a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Dakota in August 2026. 

A member of the Idaho National Guard for the past 22 years, Gabell was recently promoted to major after beginning his career in the Guard infantry. He plans to retire from the military in summer 2027. 

Gabell most recently served as Bonner County’s planning director. He joined the department in June 2021 and was promoted to director in August 2022 before leaving to accept the Priest River position. 

“At the county, I oversaw a lot of long-range planning projects and the complete rewrite, for the most part, of the comprehensive plan,” Gabell told the council. 

His time with the county also included major code updates and experience with land use issues. 

While he joked that it might be an adjustment to go from a staff of 17 or 18 in Bonner County’s Planning Department to a team of two — himself and building and zoning assistant Lynda Ayers — Gabell said he is looking forward to working in Priest River. 

Later, Gabell told the council he had submitted a proposed area of city impact document to Bonner County officials. County commissioners are expected to review the document Nov. 6. 

Initial projects with the city include organizing the department’s public records related to land use and public works. As documents are scanned into electronic form, Gabell said he expects to return to the council with requests to destroy the paper copies. 

A looming project for the city is an update of its comprehensive plan, last revised in 2013. A draft revision of the strategic planning document was created in 2017 but not adopted, according to Gabell’s research. 

He told the council he will draft a guide outlining the process and options for councilors as they move forward with the document. The guide will likely include options for council involvement, public outreach and more. 

“My goal is to give you guys some ideas and some things to consider,” Gabell said. 

Gabell is also working to develop effective building and zoning compliance programs, as well as a process to address complaints, zoning violations and building violations. 

“That just seems to be something we’re lacking,” Gabell said. “I think you guys all read some of the posts online, and a lot of people are frustrated about reporting stuff to the city, and nothing happens — they don’t feel there’s a lot of follow-through.” 

He also plans to work on code updates and amendments as time allows or as needed. In addition, Gabell told the council he will begin implementing “recent statement” worksheets to clearly communicate the rationale behind planning decisions. 

“What we find is the result of it is that you get really sticky decisions, so that if something gets challenged at the district court, it’s not going to get remanded due to a lack of rationale and reason basis,” Gabell said.