Bonner County commissioners direct staff to draft code amendments tied to HB 180; public raises health and notice concerns

Bonner County commissioners voted June 10 to direct staff to draft amendments to the county land-use code to address telecommunications facilities and broadband infrastructure ahead of the July 1 effective date of House Bill 180.

County Attorney Bill Wilson opened the workshop by identifying the two statutory provisions central to the discussion and how they interact: “So the 2 codes are are 67Dash6540 and 61Dash538,” he said, and emphasized that the statutes appear to split responsibilities between local land-use review and regulation of pole-attachment disputes handled by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Wilson summarized his reading: “That the county reserves the right to regulate for land use, and the PUC, it's to regulate the relationship of the utilities.”

Commissioner Domke, who led the staff presentation, framed the board’s objectives before public comment: “we have, in my opinion, a constitutional obligation to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public,” and said the draft language aims to balance that obligation with the limits imposed by state and federal law.

Why it matters: HB 180 changes how Idaho defines and treats certain telecommunications and broadband facilities. The board’s action starts a code-amendment process that will go to the Planning Commission and legal review before returning to the board. Drafting new local rules now will give Bonner County staff and elected officials a chance to define application requirements, notice distances, setback rules and decommissioning bonds before any substantial local deployments occur.

What the draft will cover and what the board flagged for…