SANDPOINT — In a Tuesday land use hearing, Bonner County commissioners moved to deny a preliminary plat involving a proposed 24-lot subdivision off Baldy Mountain Road.  

The plat was denied in a 2-1 vote, with Commissioners Brian Domke and Asia Williams voting in favor of denial and Ron Korn in opposition. 

In the motion to deny the file, Domke outlined that the site was not physically suitable for the proposed development, the proposed subdivision would cause circumstances to exist that could cause future residents or the public at large to be exposed to hazards to health or safety and the proposed subdivision is in conflict with the policies of the Bonner County comprehensive plan.  

During deliberation, Korn said that he had a dissenting opinion from Domke and Williams, and believed that the site was physically suitable for the proposed development and would not impact the public at large or conflict with Bonner County Revised Code. 

The plat was originally heard in mid-August in front of Domke and Korn, where the pair postponed the hearing to give the applicants additional time to hear back from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Postponement would also allow Williams to be present.  

Commissioners noted that the file was in compliance outside of a floodplain debate — the proposed 24-lot subdivision was located near two floodplain areas, with the southernmost border of the property located within a special flood hazard zone.  

Because the property is within a special flood hazard zone, Bonner County requires the property owner to utilize a Federal Emergency Management Agency process that can modify the current effective floodplain, its boundaries and base flood elevation based on current data as opposed to relying on outdated information.   

If FEMA determines that the lots are not removed from the floodplain, the proposed subdivision would be required to comply with floodplain development regulations as outlined in county code.  

Tuesday’s hearing included extended discussion between county commissioners and legal representation, as Williams tried to understand how to move forward with the file after being absent from the initial hearing. It was ultimately determined that the hearing would be limited to questions and deliberation carried over from the original hearing, since the continuation had been granted on a limited scope.  

While the file was originally postponed to allow enough time for FEMA to report whether the proposed subdivision was in a floodplain, the government entity had not provided a response by Tuesday.  

Because of this, commissioners Domke and Williams were not confident in voting for the plat with the lack of information from FEMA. 

“I need to have a level of confidence that we can comply with the code to deal with the safety issue of the flood zone,” said Domke. “I am still concerned that I cannot personally sign off on what we’re required, with my reading of the code right now, with the lack of information coming back from FEMA.” 

Korn disagreed, noting the proposal was only in the preliminary stage and changes could still occur.  

“It’s a preliminary plat, from the very beginning things change. They have to be able to start breaking ground to figure out exactly what’s going on,” said Korn. “I’ve never heard of delaying a preliminary plat until spring. If that were the case, we’d be doing everybody in spring because that’s when the water comes, no matter where we are in the county.” 

Korn also suggested a resolution that would address his fellow commissioners’ concerns while allowing the applicants to move forward.  

The plat was ultimately denied.