Businessmen Want Updated Land-Use Plan Group Hopes To Raise $450,000 To Help County Tackle The Job

Instead of raising a ruckus over Bonner County’s outdated land-use plan, a group of businessmen wants to raise money to improve it.

For years, the county has promised to update the 17-year-old document which guides growth.

Commissioners say the project has languished because there never is enough money or staff to complete the job.

“The business community - and I think just about everyone else - is concerned about having something done. That is why the Regional Planning Alliance formed,” said Jonathan Coe, executive director of the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

The non-profit alliance wants to raise about $450,000 to help the county update the comprehensive land-use plan. With the money, a consultant would be hired to help the county staff gather information and obtain public input.

“What we want to do is help pay for the process, not the end product,” said Coe. “The only way this will work is if everyone in the community feels they had a chance to participate.”

Among those on the five-member alliance board are former county Commissioner Jim McNall and Tim Hinderman, Schweitzer Mountain Resort’s vice president of planning and development.

The group has been trying for nearly two months to get county commissioners to accept its help.

“The present plan is unable to deal with the (growth) issues the county is facing,” said Hinderman. “What we want to do is expedite the rewrite process so we don’t end up 10 years down the road and say, ‘Oh my God, how did we let that happen?”’

The alliance modeled its proposal on one used in Flathead County, Mont.

Commissioner Steve Klatt said there are still a few bugs to work out but he likes the idea.

“The commissioners have gone on record supporting it,” Klatt said. “I see it as an avenue to save taxpayers money and still provide a needed service.”

Some residents have raised concerns about the planning alliance. They fear the group wants to leave the public out of the process and design a plan that benefits real estate agents and other business people.

But Coe and Hinderman said that won’t happen.

An agreement is being written to ensure that the public is involved and that county officials control the project. The agreement also would be approved by the Idaho attorney general’s office.