Linscott Amendment Tomorrow at County Building at 1:30pm
Please come or Zoom in! More information at bottom.
Citizens Against Linscott Interstate, and community of Sagle, are not attempting to rid our county of gravel pits. We are attempting to stop NONCONFORMITIES of gravel pits in Bonner County. Eventually nonconformities end and all gravel pits should abide by current laws which require having a conditional use permit(CUP).
MOST gravel pits in Bonner County have a CUP, and from 1975 to 2005, over 35 gravel pits asked and received their conditional use permits so most understood when growth took place, it was required. All gravel pits since 1981 have been required to get them.
Linscott pit does NOT have a CUP.
The Linscott/Peak Amendment – AM0004-22 is asking to change the laws to allow expanding nonconforming gravel to grow and expand to their parcel boundaries without having to get a conditional use permit.
This is unlawful since all gravel pits have to be treated equal and all new gravel pits, since 1981, have been required to get a conditional use permit. When gravel pits expand, getting a conditional use permit helps the community and neighborhood deal with the changes such as times of operation and so forth.
The Linscott/Peak amendment is also asking for dates regarding other nonconforming land uses to change from their expansion from 1981 to 2008 and remove resource based table – naturally resources(Gravel pits), to be an exception from the expansion limitation and instead go by parcel boundaries. This is not legal anywhere in Idaho.
Nonconforming dates are set by the date nonconforming land use changes in the code, this date is 1981, and cannot be changed legally per our attorney, Gary Allen.
The Linscott/Peak is asking in their amendment that Idaho Department of Lands be the only oversight to the natural based resources in our Resource Based Code(gravel pits), with a reclamation plan. Department of Lands is not a agency that does this, but works with operator to deal with reclamation, which happens when aggregate extraction is finished and does not keep track of expansion on parcels, noise, dust or anything which protects the neighborhood or community.
Other important shocking news!
Words found in our code that were never legally adopted, approved or submitted for any hearing or code change and they benefit the Linscott pit.
This wording has never been approved, adopted, or presented at any hearing.
We are requesting a full audit of the BCRC because a simple word such as “required” switched by a staff member to say “may” can change the whole code.
Here is the exact wording which was changed:
Addded to our code from AM161-18 May 23rd, 2018 Ord. 577 was:
#22. A Batch Plant is conditionally permitted only in association with an active gravel pit.
Due to our court case required to be removed June 2020.
What was added by SOMEONE and NO ONE KNOWS WHO and inn our code NOW (they say they will remove it, and claim “staff error” is this:
#22. A batch plant shall only locate in an active gravel pit. A batch plant placed in a gravel pit shall be considered a separate, discrete use, and not the increased intensity of a grandfathered use to operate the gravel pit itself.
We are working to find WHO unlawfully added these words and have asked the County Commissioners for a full audit of all wording added to the code since 2018.
Regarding the Linscott Amendment, Bonner County Planning staff has recommended denial. Bonner Planning Commissioners have recommended denial.
Please come and say you recommend DENIAL or ZOOM in and ask for DENIAL.
It is third on the agenda tomorrow please come or zoom in.
Raise your had and ask for them to deny this amendment.
Also this is the ONLY amendment where the Linscott(applicant) was not on the public notice.