Commission passes snowmobile park ordinance
BONNERS FERRY — The Boundary County Commissioners voted Aug. 25 to adopt an ordinance prohibiting certain uses of the Boundary County Snowmobile Park, in the Highland Flats area outside Naples.
Boundary County Ordinance 2014-1 makes it unlawful to discharge a firearm in the park, makes camping more than three consecutive nights illegal, provides provisions for animals in the park, and creates noise restrictions.
Neighbors on Highland Flats Road and surrounding the park wrote letters and testified in support of the ordinance.
Concerns center mainly on groups of seasonal huckleberry harvesters who use the park for a base camp.
“The group has increased from a couple of trailers to this year’s maximum of nearly 15-20 different trailers and tents, staying a few weeks to the now three-month period from July to September,” one neighbor wrote.
Neighbors were concerned about migrant huckleberry pickers firing guns in the evening, barking dogs, generator noise and the lack of sewage facilities at the site.
“Two years ago, a member of the group engaged in some sort of primal screaming every morning between five and six a.m.,” one neighbor wrote.
Others were concerned about the presence of a registered sex offender, who has been using the location as a part-time address.
“I believe that putting a limit on the time people can camp on county property is a reasonable thing to do,” one neighbor wrote. “The campers could be staying at RV parks where they would be paying for the upkeep of the property and disposal of the waste they produce. Even the U.S. Forest Service charges a fee at their campgrounds for upkeep.”
The ordinance makes violation a misdemeanor punishable by a $300 fine and up to six months jail. Enforcement will be done by the Boundary County Sheriff’s Department. BB guns and pellet guns are included in the list of firearms illegal to discharge, but not illegal to carry, Boundary County Commissioners said.
Camping is restricted to three consecutive nights, but allows for four days of use, commissioners said. In order to keep from creating an ordinance with unintended consequences for snowmobile users who might use the site on a weekly basis, commissioners were unwilling to place stipulations on when campers could return after a three night period.
Animal ordinances make it unlawful for the caretaker of an animal to leave it unattended at the park. The law requires animals be on leashes and that owners clean up after their pets.
Noise ordinances for the park make it unlawful to cause loud or obnoxious noise from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. at the park, and requires that generators be shut off for the same time period.
No testimony in opposition to the ordinance was presented for the commissioners, who passed it with a unanimous vote.