Resolution to Oppose the Greenprint in Bonner County
By Bret Roush
Bonner County Commissioners Meeting on the Resolution (17-09) opposing the Greater Sandpoint Greenprint and it’s use by county planning and zoning.
I expected the meeting to be well attended and was not disappointed, when I arrived the parking lot was full and so was the room.
It began with a discussion of the flawed research used in the Greenprint, 560 people were surveyed and almost all of them were from within the city limits. Almost none were from the 43,000 residents that live outside city boundaries.
Public comments were interesting and even the 2 or 3 in favor of the Greenprint and against the resolution admitted that the research had errors. Only one commented that the ‘productive land’ receiving additional weight in the survey should have allowed for proper compensation. Most of the comments were in support of the resolution and one even asked ‘Who’s pipe dream is this?’ of the Greenprint results. It was all kept on a friendly basis, even with a joke about building a wall around Sandpoint and making Mexico pay for it.
One comment from the audience spoke of calls he received from residents of Benewah county asking what they could do to keep the influences from seeping down into their county.
Another commented on the funding being from (at least partially) the LOR group in Jackson Hole and the negative influences to that community, the poll involving less than 2% of the county residents, and the vague wording of the Greenprint recommendations. As well as the fact that the steering committee were all of the same mind, keeping their recommendations in an ‘echo chamber’ with no outside influence.
Many of the comments were not aimed at the current ‘recommendations’ but at the concern for the future if the Greenprint was adopted. Concern about the ‘mission creep’ that always seems to metastasize, to the point where Commissioner Connelly cautioned against ‘fearing’ it. Don’t think it happens, just ask the Sacketts.
Needless to say it passed unanimously in opposition to the Greenprint and it’s use by Planning and Zoning.
Edited for clarity 2/17/2017 br
Common sense prevails in Bonner County!