Unease dogs Clagstone Meadows at hearing

SANDPOINT — The brushstrokes for Clagstone Meadows are still too broad to ease the concerns of landowners who would neighbor the 12,400-acre Clagstone Meadows recreational community development.
More than 20 people testified against the large-scale planned unit development north of Kelso Lake during the second leg of a public hearing before the Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission on Wednesday.
Frequent themes among the testimony were potential impacts to water quality and quantity, wetlands and wildlife habitat. Many of the opponents urged the commission to reject Clagstone Meadows LLC’s 1,200-unit proposal or at least require the developers to put forth more detailed information.
Project representatives contend that between wells, surface waters and the Rathdrum Aquifer, there is ample water to serve the development. Wildlife corridors would allow big game to move through the project and officials from project designer WHPacific said it’s premature to conduct a thorough wetlands delineation.
Hal Keever of WHPacific said “baseline approval” from P&Z would trigger more rigorous review and study of the development’s potential impacts.
“That next stage is a very expensive stage,” Keever said.
But neighbors aren’t ready to take the leap of faith that their wells would not be sapped by Clagstone Meadows or fouled by fertilizers and herbicides for the project’s two 18-hole golf courses.
“When our wells dry up, up do we call?” asked Barbara Oler.
The Idaho Conservation League, which has closely examined the development proposal argued that the project does not meet the goals of Bonner County’s comprehensive land use plan and that there’s still way too many unknowns for it to win approval.
The conservation league noted that some of the project’s documentation concerning wildlife was clearly pulled from outside the area, as evidence by mentions of pronghorn antelope, which are not found in the region.
“This information appears to be unreliable and not specific to Clagstone,” said Susan Drumheller of ICL.
But some encouraged P&Z to approve the conceptual plan, which would lead to more rigorous review once detailed housing plans are submitted for review. Conceptual approval would lock in density, but elements of the plan would still need county approval.
“I urge you to let this process take its course,” said Sagle resident Tom Williams.
It was unclear at press time what action, if any, P&Z took on the proposal. It can either recommend approval or denial to the Bonner County Commission, or continue the proceedings to a certain date.