SAGLE — Bonner County commissioners have again continued an appeal for a proposed marina expansion off Lakeshore Drive, a common theme in the highly anticipated file, to have time to review late public comments.  

The file was continued until Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m. Although public comment will not be reopened during the continued hearing, public attendance is still welcome.  

The request came from Bonner County Commissioner Asia Williams after a resident argued that a traffic impact study — one of the only issues that was permissible to be commented on as allowed by continuation rules set by commissioners in an Aug. 6 hearing — wasn't uploaded to the file until Sept. 24, seven days after public comment closed to the public.  

Public comment was limited to the traffic study and agency comments about traffic, encroachment and road safety.  

While the county hadn't violated the public comment process, Williams asked for additional time to review the late comments, saying she "owed it" to open the file and read all the public comments.  

A continuance on the file was originally approved at an Aug. 6 hearing to review an appeal of the zoning commission's denial of a marina expansion request off Lakeshore Drive. The request would add 45 boat slips to an already existing 47-slip marina off Lakeshore Drive in Sagle, along with upland uses and a 53-stall parking lot. The county does not have jurisdiction over boat slip approval, but it must sign off on the upland area, including parking, site design and buildings.   

Commissioners Brian Domke and Williams originally moved to continue the hearing to October to allow feedback from the county's Road and Bridge Department to determine if the proposed expansion would impact traffic on surrounding roads, and whether the approach to the property currently met county standards.  

At the Oct. 1 hearing, Road and Bridge Project Engineer Matt Mulder utilized the new traffic impact study when stating that an increase in traffic from the proposed marina expansion would not significantly worsen roadway conditions. He further said that future expansion phases may need a traffic impact study reevaluation.  

"The traffic study collected new traffic counts at the intersection of U.S. 95 and Lakeshore Drive to determine the level of service for weekday and weekend a.m. and p.m. peak hours," ITD District 1 Planning & Scoping Program Manager Robert Beechler said.  "The proposed addition of 47 slips increased U.S. 95 southbound right turns onto Lakeshore Drive by 9% during weekday a.m. peak traffic and 13% during weekend peak traffic. The proposed p.m. weekday and weekend peak traffic increases by 5%." 

In a letter to county commissioners, Beecher said there were still some concerns if the marina were to expand to its full capacity of 268 boat slips, but that at this time, most roadway concerns were mitigated by current traffic safety measures such as eliminating left-turn access from Lakeshore Drive onto U.S. Highway 95.  

Beecher said the department will continue to monitor the intersection.  

Zoning commissioners recommended denial of the proposed marina expansion due to its location near the U.S. Highway and Lakeshore Drive intersection — one of the more dangerous intersections in the county.   

At the Zoning Commission hearing and the Aug. 6 appeal hearing, public comment was largely opposed to the expansion. Most speakers cited safety concerns about the marina’s location and the danger of adding more traffic to an already congested intersection. Community members also raised concerns about the marina’s driveway and its proximity to the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and U.S. Highway 95. 

Applicants of the file appealed the denial, stating that the decision was based on “generalized concerns regarding existing roadway conditions, which are unrelated to the proposed use.” Appellants also argued that there were no records indicating competent evidence that the proposed expansion would create a hazard.    

Commissioners will reconvene Oct. 7 to decide on the file.