August is public’s opportunity to comment on goals, objectives of BoCo Comp Plan

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff

The window to weigh in on the Bonner County Planning Commission’s proposed changes to the Goals, Objectives and Policies of the Bonner County Comprehensive Plan is currently open, with opportunities to comment at a public workshop on Tuesday, Aug. 16 and again at the commission’s hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Bonner County is currently working to update its Comp Plan for the first time since 2005. Comp Plans — and, in particular, the Goals, Objectives and Policies established — are used to inform land use planning for the years to follow. 

With Bonner County facing unprecedented population growth and demand for development, many interested groups are encouraging substantial public involvement in the rewrite process. One of those groups is local land use watchdog nonprofit Project 7B, which shared in its July 28 newsletter: “A comprehensive plan’s goals and objectives should reflect the values and desires of the community as a whole, because they are the touchstone of all land use decisions.”

Project 7B has been a vocal opponent of what it describes as the “rushed process” to update the Goals, Objectives and Policies document before the end of August. The Planning Commission, which became an entity separate from the Zoning Commission thanks to a change to county code earlier this year, began the Comp Plan update process in May.

“We are concerned that the timeline is too aggressive to include meaningful public involvement,” the group wrote in its newsletter, “and that the goals and objectives were developed before the Planning Commission has had ample opportunity to gather the requisite data and information to inform them.”

To read the proposed Goals, Objectives and Policies document, visit bonnercountyid.gov/departments/planning/current-projects, and select “File AM0012-22 – Bonner County Planning Commission.”

The commission is hosting two public workshops to hear comments on the draft — one of which occurred on Aug. 2 and the second scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 4:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building, located at 1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint.

Comments can also be made at a hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 30. However, the commission plans to finalize recommendations for the Goals, Objectives and Policies of the Comp Plan at that meeting, so it is best if comments make it into the record before that date.

Written comments can be submitted to the commission via email: planning@bonnercountyid.gov. Those unable to attend the workshop or hearing in person can gain access to the Zoom link for each meeting once agendas are made available at bonnercountyid.gov/PlanningCommissionAgendasMinutes, or can watch the meetings in real time as they’re live streamed on the Bonner County Planning YouTube channel.

Those with questions about the process or the hearings can reach the planning department directly by calling 208-265-1458.