Applications open for two seats on the BoCo Planning Commission

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

The Bonner County Planning Commission currently has two open seats and applications are being accepted. Planning officials told the Reader that the “positions will close when they are filled.”

Those interested in applying to be a part of the seven-member volunteer board can access the PDF application at bit.ly/3X1rINk. Those with questions about serving on the commission can reach Planning Director Jacob Gabell at 208-265-1458 or email planning@bonnercountyid.gov.

Bonner County Planning Commission hearings are typically held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 4:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building (1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint). Those interested in watching the  hearings online — as well as reviewing past hearings — can head to the Bonner County Planning YouTube channel.

The Planning Commission is tasked with guiding the county’s land use policies, largely with updates and amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, which is currently in the multi-year process of being re-written. After each component is analyzed by the commission, its recommendations go to the board of Bonner County commissioners for final approval. For an up-to-date look at where the commission is in that process, go to bit.ly/3RmmzOM.

The Planning Commission has been a separate entity from the Zoning Commission since March 2022, when the BOCC voted to dissolve the joint commission under the impression that it would free up more volunteer hours for the Comp Plan rewrite. 

At the Bonner County commissioners’ regular weekly business meeting Jan. 24, newly-elected Commissioner Asia Williams noted during her District 2 Commissioner Update that she would like to see a proposal to recombine the two commissions on a future BOCC agenda. That agenda item has yet to be set.