SANDPOINT — A preliminary plat for a subdivision off Idaho Club Drive in Sandpoint was recommended for approval by Bonner County’s hearing examiner, after noting that a denial would not effectively address concerns about water and sewer at the preliminary phase of the file. 

The 11th edition of Golden Tee Estates was recommended for approval during a hearing examiner review Thursday, Aug. 27, by Alan Songstad.  

In his debut meeting as hearing examiner, Songstad approved the preliminary plat with strong conditions attached to it to ensure water and sewer improvements are made to the site before the 11th edition’s final plat is approved and recorded.  

The proposal is the 11th edition of Golden Tee Estates, an approved 20-year development plan for the Idaho Club — which proposes up to 498 dwelling units on 879 acres and includes other amenities such as the golf course.

As part of those conditions, project representatives and county engineers agreed that the plat should follow condition C9, criteria that were originally set as part of the original PUD, requiring applicants to obtain approval from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for utility plans on each phase of the subdivision.  

The conditions were emphasized for the file after public and agency comments shared concerns of limited sewer and water system capacity. Applicants must obtain approval from Idaho DEQ to ensure that each lot can hook up to the applicable utility services before being purchased.  

Applicants requested to replat a 7.57-acre lot into 22 residential lots as part of an already approved planned unit development off Idaho Club Drive in Sandpoint. The proposed lots are expected to range from .15 acres to .52 acres.  

The proposed 20-lot subdivision is part of the master plan’s PUD, where each phase of development is required to go through the preliminary plat process but is governed by the original conditions of the PUD, which allows for deviations from certain requirements of code.  

At an Oct. 7 hearing, Bonner County commissioners unanimously denied the 22-lot subdivision after finding that Gem State Water had capacity for the proposed lot increase, but that the added connections were not allowed until Gem State was issued permits by Idaho DEQ.