IMPORTANT DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE BY MARCH 10TH
 
Hello Neighbors,
 
A few weeks ago I sent you District Court Judge Brudie’s decision in our case against Bonner County’s approval of an asphalt plant.  If you didn’t get a chance to read it, here’s the link again:  www.nosagleasphaltplant.com   Essentially, the Judge did not find for Bonner County, Interstate, or the Linscotts in regard to their arguments on standing, service, and timeliness.  The Judge determined that we did have standing to sue, we did properly serve all parties, and we filed our petition timely. The Judge also found that we raised legitimate issues in our petition and that our motion was not brought “frivolously, unreasonably, or without foundation” and denied both Bonner County’s and Interstate’s request for attorney fees.
 
However, the Judge also declined to rule in our favor that the 2018 Amendment to the Bonner County Resource Code was unlawfully adopted because he considered the County’s action in adopting the Amendment to be a legislative action.  He stated that legislative actions should be addressed through a declaratory action, separate from the petition for judicial review.  In addition, the Judge declined to rule that the Board’s actions did not comply with the zoning ordinance because he determined that an action to enforce the county ordinances has never been brought to the County Prosecutor.  He noted that the Court “is not empowered to render a legal conclusion on a property’s compliance with county ordinances when the issue has not been properly raised below.”  The Court then deferred to the Board’s interpretation and application of its zoning ordinance and so affirmed the Board’s decision.
 
Essentially, this means that we have several options about our next steps, but there are some deadlines involved and so the decision needs to be made within the next few weeks.  I have outlined the options below for you to review.
 
1.    Option 1. Seek declaratory action in district court to find the 2018 amendment invalid.  As a reminder, in April and May of 2018, the County gave public notice the hearing was to discuss GRAVEL PITS IN INDUSTRIAL ZONES.  However, during those hearings, the County Commissioners instead voted to allow asphalt plants in rural-5, agriculture and forest zones, which was not included in any public notice and was improper.  The cost of this action would cost about $10,000. If we won, the amendment would be declared invalid and the County would have to start over to change the zoning law.  Once the County provided proper notice, we would need to attend the planning and zoning board meeting and the County Commissioner’s meeting to try and stop any new ordinance from getting adopted.  If we succeeded, Interstate could not permanently move the plant to the Linscott’s property.  If we lost, Interstate would have to reapply under the new ordinance. 

2.    Option 2: We could appeal the District Judge’s decision to the Idaho Supreme Court and limit our issues to the ones we feel the Judge decided incorrectly.  If we did not simultaneously file for an injunction, Interstate could go forward with building the plant while the Supreme Court decided the case.  The cost for such an appeal action is around $25,000.
 
3.    Option 3. We request that the County Prosecutor enforce the ordinances as written and find that Linscotts have illegally expanded and added to the gravel pit, which is not permitted.  The Bonner County Comprehensive Plan clearly states that grandfathered land, such as Linscott’s property, cannot grow beyond what is allowed.  The evidence we have already gathered clearly shows that unlawful expansion occurred.  (You can see this on our website by looking at the growth of the gravel pit from 1971 versus 2017.)  Our County Attorney’s name is Louis Marshall.  We can approach him and request that he enforce the statutes and find that Linscott has illegally expanded and violated county ordinance. 
 
4.    Option 4: We continue to work together to persuade DEQ and South Side Water of the need to protect our sole-source aquifer by not granting Interstate permits to move forward with the plant.  This would include everyone’s involvement to research the science surrounding asphalt plants’ effects on water sources, etc.  It could include testing of water run-off from the current plant location. It will certainly include our contacting the various agencies and agency officials, as appropriate.  The asphalt plant project still must apply for, and receive, DEQ permits in order to move forward.  If we do not pursue other legal options, this is the only remaining option to stop the plant from coming in.
 
While I believe that a combination of these options might be the best, I am not able to finance another legal phase.  My family and I have already paid around $8000.  While we have greatly appreciated the financial support of many of you¸ the remaining legal bill is approximately $16,700.  If you want to move forward with either Option 1 or 2, everyone would have to step forward and commit to help finance the next step.  Gary Allen, our attorney, is one of the best land-use attorneys in the state and he is willing to accept monthly payments over time to make this feasible.  If even 20 families paid $50/month, that would be approximately $1000/month for 10 months.  The more families willing to support an action each month, the less any one family would pay.  Whatever we decide, we will need to be proactive in the future.  And even if we do not move forward with another legal phase, I would kindly ask that you continue to donate to 7B auction in the name of Citizens Against Linscott Interstate Asphalt Plant and consider continuing to donate to help my family pay the legal bills already incurred.
 
Finally, no matter what happens in regard to the asphalt plant, we have learned some valuable lessons about the importance of having County Commissioners and other elected officials who will enforce the law and follow the lawful procedures to enact or amend laws.  If we don’t have current officials who do that, it’s time to look for new leadership. 
 
I need your opinion on moving forward. An asphalt plant drops property values by up to 57% within a mile and many of our neighbors are extremely sensitive to the chemicals which an asphalt plant releases, including formaldehyde which can travel over 1.5 miles away from the plant.  Other chemicals which travel a far distance from an asphalt plant cause cancer.  In 2006, when the asphalt plant ran on a temporary basis, many neighbors on Gun Club, Meadow, Lakeshore, and Spades, could hear and smell the plant and many neighbors expressed respiratory problems and found the noises to negatively affect their quality of life.
 
Please share this email with friends or family who live in Sagle because still not everyone knows about this and please email me as soon as possible to let me know your decision. The lawyer said he is very patient but needs to know how much to expect each month from the group.
 
 
I hope to hear from you ASAP and tell me what you think.
 
Jonna Plante
Email: nosagleasphaltplant@gmail.com
 
Citizens Against Linscott Interstate Asphalt Plant FB page below
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1908971339223917/
 
We will accept monthly donates but if you want to donate to help the financial obligations of our group so far please donate here or send payment to
Citizens Against Linscott Interstate Asphalt Plant or CALI
259 Meadow Ln
Sagle, ID 83860
 
(BE SURE TO PUT ZERO ON A TIP ON BELOW SITE OR THEY WILL TAKE 15%)
Copy and paste  this address in your web browser
 
www.gofundme.com/f/citizens-against-linscottinterstate-asphalt-plant?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgntopnavlarge_r&fbclid=IwAR0w-KgXWTyRwEkZ0ikrHagDgKE0WLA480-RF6sfyh2IQ_P3XQKf8EohIXo