Bonner County to buy, raze house in floodway

A $509,000 federal grant will allow Bonner County to purchase and raze a home that was improperly built in the Pack River’s floodway, potentially jeopardizing other local landowners’ ability to get flood insurance.

The house is near the confluence of the Pack River and Grouse Creek, where high water velocities and floating debris could cause significant damage during flooding, said Clare Marley, the county’s planning director.

Bonner County issued permits for the two-story home on Colburn Culver Road in 1994, but when the new owners tried to get permits for outbuildings several years ago, county planners determined the property was in the floodway.

“They didn’t know that when they bought the place,” Marley said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency alerted county officials that leaving the house in the floodway could jeopardize other Bonner County landowners’ ability to purchase private flood insurance through a federally backed program. To participate in the National Flood Insurance Program, communities have to enforce floodplain standards.

FEMA is providing the grant to buy the home and restore the land to a natural state, which requires a $170,000 match from the county.

Marley said the county is in negotiations with the property owners, James and Marlene Stobie, who couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.