Asphalt batch plant plan resurfaces

SAGLE - Permanency is being sought for a temporary asphalt batch plant on the west side of U.S. Highway 95.

Frank Linscott is seeking a comprehensive land-use plan map amendment and a zone change that would make the batch plant a permanent fixture at his existing surface mine.

The Bonner County Planning and Zoning Commission is conducting a public hearing on the map amendment and zone change on Thursday, Jan. 15. It's set for 6 p.m. in the first-floor conference room at the Bonner County Administration Building at the corner of U.S. Highway 2 and Division Avenue.

Linscott is requesting a comp plan map change from Rural Residential to Transition and a conditional zone change from Rural 5 to Industrial for approximately 8 acres.

Previous efforts to rezone the gravel pit from rural to industrial ran into significant opposition from neighbors who raised concerns over noise, dust, toxic fumes and increased traffic. They also argued that the blacktop plant posed a threat to the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

A temporary plant was allowed in 2001, but neighbors said dust and fumes forced them indoors and with their windows shut in the summer. Neighbors further contended that the plant's regulated hours of operation were routinely violated.

The county's board of commissioners approved another temporary batch plant in 2013, despite heavy opposition from neighbors. Commissioners said violations of conditions of approval would not be taken lightly.

A Bonner County Planning Department staff report on the latest proposal is being drafted and has not yet been released for public review. When complete, it will be posted to the department's section of the county website (bonnercounty.us).