SANDPOINT — After a four-hour land use hearing, Bonner County commissioners decided to continue a proposed cell tower hearing once more to allow time for commissioners to review federal code and other applicable materials.  

The proposed tower is located off Cindy Lane in the Elmira area, where the conditional use permit would allow the construction of a 140-foot tower on a 20-acre parcel. Commissioners are expected to vote on the permit Feb. 26 at 9 a.m.  

During the hearing, public testimony was received, all of which was opposed to the proposed tower, citing the impact on home values and inconsistencies regarding the necessity of the tower.  

“For the last two years, the applicant has referred to our location as Naples. This is a testament to the sensitivity with which the applicant has approached the project,” one opposed community member said. “This is part of a national trend, that is to strip local governing authority away from communities so that tower placement is governed from above. This is what arrogance looks like.” 

One community member asked commissioners to determine who they believed — the applicant or the appellant.  

During a rebuttal period, both the applicant and appellant gave similar remarks to their opening statements.  

Applicant representative Josh Leonard first spoke, using previously reviewed slides to show that the proposed tower was at least 550 feet away from the closest facility. He further said that the rural character of the area, including impacted home value, would not be impacted as the proposed tower would sit between already existing power lines.  

“The appellants have tried to make you believe that cell towers, wireless communication facilities, are industrial or commercial use, and that it would change the character of an area. That’s incorrect and untrue under Bonner County’s own code,” Leonard said.  

In response to a public comment that indicated a loss in home value, Leonard quoted an email from the Ada County assessor, who stated that “the overall effect (of a cell tower) in the market is very minimal” and that there hasn’t been “any measurable adjustment in the market.”  

Appellant representative Norm Semanko rebutted Leonard’s comments, arguing that the Bonner County code requires that county commissioners only approve the permit if all requirements are met — a conditional use cannot be granted for the permit.  

Semanko went on to share the property value loss of a nearby home, which was sold for 17% less than its original listing price after the owners learned of the proposed tower.  

“The 17% loss in property value is anchored by evidence of an actual sale by the Binderts, who are actually the first two appellants listed in our appeal,” Semanko said. “It’s important to emphasize here that more than $100,000 is the number we’re talking about here.”  

Amid other comments and presentations by project and appellant representatives, commissioners moved to continue the hearing for two weeks, allowing enough time for them to review federal code and other important documents pertaining to the file. Commissioners are expected to decide on the file at the Feb. 26 hearing.  

The conditional use permit comes with a history of approvals and appeals across multiple commissioning boards. According to a staff report, the permit was originally filed in December 2023 and was approved by the Bonner County hearing examiner Feb. 7, 2024. When that decision was appealed a month later, the 2024 Board of County Commissioners affirmed the hearing examiner’s approval.  

Appellants requested that commissioners rehear the file, which was ultimately denied. After the denial of a rehearing, the appellants filed for judicial review of the permit. As a result, the court vacated the previous board’s decision, remanding the file back to the county.  

In July 2025, the current board of commissioners decided to hear the file “de novo,” or from the beginning. The file has been continued twice.