Step by Step with Links
Step 1 (minute 0:00 in the video): Go to the Bonner County Current Projects here. These are all the in-progress applications for conditional use permits, subdivisions, and so on. From here, you can look at files for an individual project, and research what the project proposal is.
Step 2 (minute 1:30 in the video): The Idaho Secretary of State business search is here. Use this to find out who is running a development company listed on a Bonner County application, for example.
Step 3 (minute 2:14 in the video): If you want to search Bonner County’s property records, such as deed and ownership history, go to the Assessor’s property search page here.
Step 4 (minute 2:58 in the video): If you want to look up the land referenced in the current project, the interactive Bonner County maps to look up parcels are here and the video tutorial on how to use them is here. Click the search button at the top and look up data by owner, parcel number, or address. Click on surrounding parcels to compare acreage size, for example.
Step 5 (minute 4:43 in the video): You can check county code on the The Bonner County Planning Department website here.
Step 6 (minute 7:22 in the video): Look at agency comments within the application files to see if there appears to be adequate road, sewage, and water services for the parcel, and if there are other issues to consider (such as wetlands).
Step 7 (minute 9:20 in the video): If you’re planning to go to a hearing, you should make sure it’s still scheduled for the originally-listed time. The main page for Bonner County is here. Scroll down about halfway to find the interactive Meetings and Events calendar. Meetings are separated by department. Click on the meeting you want in the sidebar to see the individual meeting page with the Zoom link and the agenda.
Step 7 (minute 10:50 in the video): If you want to draft a comment letter to the county based on all your research, see our tips here. If you want to prepare spoken comments for a public hearing, consider our tips here.
Bonus: If you have ten business days or more, and you still cannot find the Bonner County land use documents you’re looking for, you can submit a public records request for land use documents (or something else) here.