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PNZ approves wetland setback variance for T10 Mountains LLC with disturbance limited to created uplands
Summary
The commission approved a wetlands setback variance allowing a planned residence and driveway within the wetland setback, subject to staff conditions and a requirement that disturbance be limited to the Army Corps–established upland area; opponents argued the proposal failed to prove undue hardship and raised groundwater and wetland protection concerns.
The Planning & Zoning Commission approved a wetland setback variance for T10 Mountains LLC, allowing construction of a single‑family residence and driveway on a 20.1‑acre LA‑35 parcel where jurisdictional wetlands cover most of the site.
Senior planner Dan Lehman summarized the request and said the applicant obtained Army Corps permits and completed on‑site wetland mitigation. The site’s proposed driveway follows an existing easement access and, Lehman said, the applicant argues the design "minimizes additional wetland disturbance." The Corps‑permitted mitigation and the county’s grading and erosion control permit were central to staff’s evaluation.
An adjacent landowner, Rich Huntsman of Fox Creek Ranch, opposed the variance in public comment, arguing the application did not demonstrate undue hardship, lacked building footprints and septic approvals, and would set an inequitable precedent for surrounding landowners who had been denied similar disturbance. "This is not a case of undue hardship," Huntsman said.
Commissioners discussed whether the requested disturbance comprised the "least variance possible," noting that the applicant had created uplands in coordination with the Corps and had already placed spoils for a mitigation pond and a half‑acre upland area near a corner of the parcel. Commissioners and staff agreed to limit the allowed disturbance to the uplands previously created and documented in the Army Corps application. The PNZ’s motion to approve included staff conditions, the two standard staff conditions the commission retained, and an explicit condition that the approved building and disturbance envelope be limited to the created uplands established in the Corps submittal.
The motion passed by recorded vote. Commissioners emphasized that East Idaho Public Health must still approve septic plans before building permits and that site‑specific details (building footprint, septic placement, and refined buffer/management plans) will be required at subsequent permitting stages.
What happens next: The PNZ’s recommendation to approve the variance with conditions will be included in the written decision and forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners per the standard approval pathway; remaining sanitary, permitting and mitigation details will be resolved during permitting.
