33 minute read
Summer Reading Program
Before the interstate highways crisscrossed the country and before the railroad centers dotted the western territories, cowboys would drive their herds consisting of thousands of cows over hundreds of miles for days on end to reach the stockyards where they would finally sell and ship their cattle. Those cattle drives are an iconic part of the history of the west, and while cattle drives of that same nature and size don’t happen today, cowboys can still be found driving their herds across the range or even your rural back roads.
The old cattle drives featured a myriad of challenges, including cattle thieves, natural disasters, stampedes, and treacherous river crossings, just to name a few. While not nearly so intense and potentially devastating, modern day cowboys face their own brand of obstacles as they move their herds along. One obstacle that their forebears likely never imagined would cross the path of a cattle drive is the rural traffic of busy cars and trucks in a hurry to get to where they’re going.
The rural traffic jam that happens when cars meet cows can be simple and easy, but also frustrating and lengthy. Like any traffic congestion, there are a few rules of courtesy that will make going a little easier and just might make this country road tie-up a little fun. Here are a handful of cattle drive courtesy tips for when you come across a herd moving down the road this summer.
If you find yourself coming up behind a cattle drive, you don’t have to worry about trailing the herd until you part ways. Just go ahead and drive up through the cattle. You may be wary that the cattle won’t move, but they will. You may need to wind your way across the road, taking advantage of the open spaces on both sides of the road. If you feel uneasy about going through by yourself, a rider can help take you through the cows. Keep up close to the cowboy or those cows will get between you and the rider and you will be back to being stuck behind the herd. Just remember, so long as you keep moving ahead, the cows will move out of the way.
If you find yourself coming head on to a cattle drive, do your best to slowly meander your way against the cattle. I say “slowly” because it's important to recognize that if you are going too fast, you might turn the cattle around and cause a lot of unnecessary chaos for yourself and the riders moving the cattle. Once again, taking advantage of the open spaces and following the cues from the cowboys will help you get through the herd in the quickest ways.
As you move through the herd, in whichever direction you are moving, remember to be patient. You aren’t going to save anytime if you try to bust your way through the cattle. Your efforts to speed up will be fleeting and followed by some swift stomping on your breaks. (The other option being running into the cows...) Yes, you may need to be somewhat aggressive to keep moving ahead, but even then, be patient with the cattle and the cowboys that are doing their very best to keep everyone on the move.
Despite any good intentions, you should never, in any circumstances, honk your horn. If you want to catch the attention of riders, roll your window down and have a quick conversation. If you want the cattle to move out of the way, just keep rolling forward. Even if you think that it will help move the herd along, honking your horn might cause more harm than good as it could scatter the cattle, push calves through the fences or make them turn back. We try to keep things as calm and easy as we can as we move down the road and adding a honking horn to the mix certainly won’t aid in either of those pursuits.
Unfortunately, there may be times that you will simply have to wait for the cattle drive before you can be on your way. In times where the cattle are moving into a gate or turning off the road, driving into the herd might just cut off the cows from making that turn or heading through the gate. In those cases where you can see that they aren’t just moving down the road, pause before you go on to make sure you don’t botch things. Usually there will be a cowboy there to turn the cattle and can help you to know whether you can stay or go.
We understand your time is precious, but that’s not the only thing of value on the road that day. Our cattle are at the center of our livelihood and without their health and safety, we really have little to show at the end of the day. Of even greater value than the cattle are the cowboys and cowgirls moving the cattle. Some may be well experienced in taking the herd down the road and sharing it with the rural traffic, but others are still young and learning. You are of value too and we want to be sure that we all safely enjoy the drive down the road.
These few tips of cattle drive courtesy will help you not only navigate the roaming herds that will share your roadways over the next few months, but actually help make it a much less stressful situation for you and the cowboys behind the drive. In fact, coming across a cattle drive is a great opportunity for you to soak up the heritage that this great west was built on. Take the chance to pause, snap a picture or two and tip your hat to the great cattlemen and women that work to feed this great country.
Driving cattle through the canyon
Construction closes 1500 S
The ongoing wastewater treatment project undertaken by the city to update its system will result in 1500 S remaining closed other than to some local traffic where it intersects Old Highway 191.
Engineers are boring under the railroad tracks and county highway in order to take the pipeline from the lift station at the location of the old lagoons up to the new lagoons farther east.
City Superintendent Tyler Webster believes that the project should not take much more than a week. “After the boring, and the line is in, we’ll seal it and then asphalt it.” After the initial boring is done, 1500 S will be reopened, though it will be closed again later in order to be sealed and asphalted. It is hoped that Old Highway 191 will not need to be closed.
1500 S will be closed to traffic for the next week or so
Recreation Softball and Baseball continue for the third week of the season
The Oneida Recreation Softball and Baseball programs continue through their third week of their 2022 summer season.
The Softball oldest league had two great games this week. The first game that was held on Monday, June 13 ended in a tie with both teams scoring five runs. In the game on Wednesday, June 15 the Blue Jays, coached by Graycee Goddard, Beth McClain, and Hallie Horsley, won 12-4 over The Thunder, coached by Riglee Peterson and Brylee Oglesbee.
The Baseball teams played Tuesday, June 14, and Thursday, June 16. The scores from this week were not recorded.
The games will continue through the month of June. Girls play on Monday and Wednesday Nights on the fields behind the Elementary School. Boys playing on Tuesday and Thursday Nights at the Malad City Park.
Courtesy on the roads on all parts is essential for smooth cattle driving
Kickball Tournament Sign-Up!
Anyone interested in signing up for the 4th of July kickball tournament, sponsored by the Idaho Enterprise, can do so by calling the Enterprise office at 1 (208) 766-4773, emailing enterprisenews@ atcnet.net, or including their name on our Facebook page post about the event. The more participants, the better! The tournament will run from 1-3 p.m. on Monday, July 4 at the High School baseball field.
WEDDING
Sadie Simpson and Colter Mathews Sadie Simpson and Colter Mathews celebrate wedding
Turnout was high at a packed Summer Reading program opening day Library staff and volunteers on hand to register kids for the Reading Program
Summer Reading kicks off at library
The library recently began its annual summer reading program, which encourages kids to keep their reading skills sharp over the long break from school. The program has been extremely popular over the years, bringing in hundreds of kids to the weekly activities and working hard for their end of summer awards. Over 200 kids were reported to have signed up for the program as of its first week.
This summer, the reading program is all about Monster’s University. The theme is “When you read you succeed.” Continued reading has been shown to have a significantly high correlation with academic, and even eventual financial success for all age groups but especially those of primary school age. Summer is also often a time when academic habits, most notably reading, problem solving, and communication tend to decline. The program not only allows kids the chance to engage with reading in a number of ways, but also to socialize with peers in a fun outdoor environment.
Kids ages 0-11 meet at 12:30 p.m .every Tuesday in the Malad City Park, and the teen group meets Tuesdays 1:00 p.m. at the park pavilion. This week and next week will feature a demonstration by the ISU Science/ Physics department, which is designed to encourage continued education in STEM subjects over the summer.
Library director Kathy Kent explains, “through a grant from Future Fund East, through the Idaho Community Foundation, we are giving each participant a book every week on the genre we are spotlighting. Elizabeth Kent is giving the background and interesting facts about the genres we are presenting and then we are having an activity. It’s been a lot of fun and we love giving the books away.”
Kids of all ages are invited to attend the free program for fun and a great way to spend some time learning over the summer.
The Summer Reading program will run every Tuesday until the Summer Reading Party on July 12 when the library will hand out the prizes for the program.
For adults who are interested in their own ongoing education throughout the summer, the library will also continue hosting its adult education classes at 6:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month. This Thursday, June 22, is the next “After Hours” Adult Class. Sherrie Thomas and Jeni Sperry will be explaining to those interested how to plan a money-saving, fun vacation to Disney World or Disney Land.
The “After Hours” series has provided a number of classes this year on various subjects, from InstantPot and Air Fryer cooking, to the Folklore of Ireland, to Zero-scaping and gardening. The program aims to provide practical and interesting topics for adults interesting in expanding their horizons.
July 26 will feature members of the Oneida Quilters Guild discussing and demonstrating quilting.
"We Succeed Because We Read" is this year's Reading Program theme
The LeGrande AquaPlunge wrapped up its first session of swimming lessons for the 2022 summer season on Friday, June 17. Each session runs for two weeks with sessions beginning on the hour from 8-11 a.m.
There were 111 swimmers participating in the first session of lessons this season.
Swimmers participating in Level One were: Rhett Coleman, Lidia Clark, McKraw Mitton, Ridge Wise, Saske Hackmeister, Jane Bell, Radnhild Festler, Amber Evans, Westin Evans, Trinity Hodgkins, Hagen England, Brynlee Talbot, Addison Richardson, Zoey Hayes, Riverlyn Schow, Karissa Nimer Mila Clark, Vera Reel, William Black, Will Johnson, Lexi Smith, Owen Allen, Jackson Hannum, Rachel Rodgers, Zach Hayes, Caleb Smith, Jacob Roe, Gaige Sheiman, Sully Alder, Whitney Roe, Samuel Tooke, Mason Ihler, Nicholas Waldron, Kallie Winward, and Mason Chabrias.
Level Two swimmers were: Zach Palmer, Kessa Keetch, Jack Coleman, Lafe Huckaby, Cam Coleman, Kiana Neal, William Evans, Rebecca Evans, Saigelyn Cox, Tristan Hodgkins, Lily Jones, Adilyn Clark, Lila Reel, Jojo Jones, Mollie Smith, Lincoln Anderson, Henry Hunter, Kallie Nimer, Piper Reel, Ashlyn Johnson, Edan Ihler, Annie Alder, Alexa Sheiman, Aiden Chabrias, Abby Smith, Elle Evanson, and Wade Eliason.
The swimmers that worked at Level Three were: Tayli Hackmeister, Avery Daniels, Claire Wright, Navy Keetch, Eva Coleman, Nathan Hachmeister, Franklin Fesler, Aidan Webber Luke Allen, Kinzley Neal, Maylee Hanks, McCall Summers, Emery Talbot, Tayven Pinkleton, Sarah Reiss, Sophia Hess, Hailey Talbot, Draylyn Jones, Kennedy Hannum, Gracie Nelson, Draven Wise, Kayman Nimer, Rhyze Anderson, Dixon Reel, Madelyn Gonzales, Lizzy Butler, Annika Smith, Paige Eliason, Gavin Sheiman, Ruston Jones, Ryker Jones, McCay Luke, Hadley Evanson, Bremington Lloyd, and Molly Watson.
Level Four swimmers were: Wheeler Smith, Krey Keetch, Seth Huckaby, Declan Summers, Ali Hanks, Cheznie Hannum, Ruston Montgomery, Mason Eliason, Ruby Coleman, and Jenna Blaisdell.
Swimmers participating in Level Five were: Ava Fesler, Haden Cluff, and London Hess.
The next session of swimming lesson started Monday, June 20, and will continue until June 30. There will be one more session for the summer in July. There are a lot of activities happening at the pool this summer including water aerobics and lap swimming. For more information, contact LeGrande AquaPlunge.
Summer swimming lessons are a summer tradition at the LaGrande Aqua Plunge
A full house of interested citizens attended the May 26 Oneida Central Committee Reorganization/Delegate Selection meeting at the library, where the newly elected Precinct Committepersons, who were voted in by the public in the May primary elections elected new officers. They also called state delegates who will have voting power at the Idaho Republican Convention to be held July 14-16 in Twin Falls.
Robert’s Rules of Order were followed at the meeting. Prior to the election process, Incumbent Chair Larry Oja reviewed the reorganization meeting rules, which were established by the Idaho Republican Party. County Clerk Lon Colton and private citizen Steve Werk were voting tabulators.
The five Precinct Committeepersons were presented with Certificates of Election, enabling them to carry out the duties of nominating and voting for the new officers and delegates. The Precinct Committeepersons are: Precinct 1—Dave Colton, Precinct 2—Tony Allen, Precinct 3—Paula Romrell, Precinct 4— Bryan Kerr, Precinct 5—vacant, Precinct 6— Hunter Hubbard.
Prior to nominations being opened for each new position, the main duties of that office were publicly reviewed, after which the Chair asked for those from the audience who were interested in running for that position. Each interested person was nominated, and the nomination was seconded by the Precinct chairs. After nominations were closed, each nominee was given two minutes to introduce themselves and state why they desired the position. Voting was carried out by secret ballot by the Precinct Chairpersons, except in the uncontested races.
New officers elected were Larry Oja, Chairman; Travis Whipple, 1st Vice-Chairman; Jane Ann Ward, Secretary; Karen Kerr, Treasurer; Jonathan Hayes, State Youth Committeeman; Ray Hubbard, State Committeeman; Brandi Hubbard, State Committeewoman.
Several citizens filled out 2022 State Convention Delegate pledge forms declaring their interest in serving as delegates or alternates at the State Convention. Serving as delegates will be: 1st delegate Andee Parry, 2nd delegate Gary Parry, 3rd delegate and Chairman of delegation Jonathan Hayes, 4th delegate Tom Jenkins, and 5th delegate Trevor Robbins. Alternates voted in were 1st alternate Catie FEsler, 2nd alternate Travis Whipple, 3rd alternate Robyn Gamble, 4th alternate Ronnie Gamble, and 5th alternate Ray Hubbard.
Any registered Republican who is interested in being appointed to the vacant position of Precinct 5 Committeeperson (Stone area) is welcome to notify Larry Oja at 208-317-4963 and to attend the Republican Central Committee meeting. The meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month (except in August and December) at the library. Starting in May, summer meetings begin at 8:00 p.m. and, starting in October, winter meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. Reminders of meeting dates and times are posted in the Community Calendar of the Idaho Enterprise and also on the Oneida Republican website.
SCHOOL BOARD
The monthly meeting of the Oneida School Board was held on June 14, 2022, with all members present. A dinner for all District retirees was held prior to the meeting.
Early graduation was a major topic of discussion as it is anticipated that more students will meet the requirements for graduating from high school in less than four years because of online and other options available for earning credits and completing classes. Students have to apply a year before they wish to graduate. Three students from the Idaho Home Learning Academy (IHLA) were approved for early graduation in 2023 if they meet all graduation requirements.
Superintendent Jon Abrams reported that the School District is in a sound financial position, making several facilities improvements possible. The lockers on the Hall of Fame wall in Malad High School will be replaced with a new trophy case. Painting is going on in the high school. The dividing wall in the weight room will be removed, making it one large room that will be easier to supervise. The high school bathrooms have been gutted and will be completely remodeled before school starts in August. More complete privacy walls will be built around the stalls and urinals. New carpet and paint will improve Stone School. The new softball and baseball fields are not going to be built this year because of the need for more lead time.
The Supplemental Levy passed 60% - 40% (a simple majority is required to pass this levy). Its success may be used to guide future bond elections.
The Malad High School 2021 Baseball Team won the “Spirit of Sport” Award because of the compassion the team members showed last year when they held a fundraiser for a family of a Soda Springs baseball player whose mother died. The award will be made in Boise in August, and Mr. Abrams will try to get as many of the 2021 team there as possible.
The Board discussed the demolition of the old high school, which will cost between $200,000 and $250,000, resulting in the project having to go out to bid. While it would be nice to have the project completed in the summer, it will depend on the bids. On June 28, a work session about the financing of a new elementary school and demolition of the old high school will be held at 5:00 p.m. with a special session at 6:00 p.m. on the school district budget for next year.
The Board approved the salary schedule for classified staff, administrator salaries and IHLA salaries for 20222023. It also approved the disbursement of State leadership money to qualified teachers. The superintendent will discuss which teachers will get the leadership funds with the building principals. This is the last year for the leadership money from the State.
The Malad Middle School, Malad Elementary School and IHLA High School handbooks were approved. Action on the Malad High School handbook was tabled. Stone School uses the same handbook as Malad Elementary School.
The contract with R&R Driving School was renewed. This arrangement with R&R nets the District some revenues; this year the funds will be used to buy a new football field scoreboard.
The Board approved alternate routes to content specialist certification for Jill Daniels as she pursues her special education administration certification, which requires her to complete principalship certification. Alternate routes to content specialist certification were approved for Brinn Chipman Bagley, who will be teaching at Malad Elementary School next year, and Jarek Crossley, who will be teaching at Malad High School next year. Five IHLA teachers and a support staff member were approved as personnel.
Severe weather affecting cattle across the country
It’s no surprise that farmers and ranchers rely heavily on their local weather forecast for their livelihood. From preparing their cattle for the cold winter nights to finishing the planting before the spring storms roll in to waiting to cut hay for the summer showers pass, knowing how the weather is going to shape up impacts how producers plan their work from day to day.
There’s all sorts of running jokes about weatherman accuracy, like “the only weather prediction a meteorologist in Idaho can get right is the wind” or that “a weatherman is the only guy that can be wrong all the time and still keep his job.” While it may seem that meteorologists’ predictions are wrong more often than not, the truth is that weather science is constantly becoming more and more accurate. But despite any forecasting or forewarning, some of Mother Nature’s weather whiplash can be devastating to farmers and ranchers.
The most recent weather phenomenon to wreak havoc on the cattle industry was found in Kansas over the weekend of June 10 as sudden rain showers, thunderstorms and abnormal heat waves settled in over the state led to thousands of feeder cattle dying due to the stress caused by the extreme weather conditions.
The context of this hardship, like all tragedies, is highly significant in understanding how such an extreme outcome could have happened.
Kansas is home to more than 2.4 million head of cattle, most found in feedlots throughout the state. These feedlots feed out cattle brought in from various states around the country. Despite their varying breeds, the cattle do well in the Midwestern state. The “fat” cattle are those that are finished and ready to be harvested. They are very heavy, carrying thousands of pounds of muscle and fat, making it harder to regulate their body temperature.
The Kansas climate is generally very favorable for cattle as it is usually windy, with low humidity, factors that play a key role in keeping cattle cool. Over the last eight months it has had especially low humidity as there has been well below average rainfall. June in Kansas normally averages temperature at a comfortable upper 70s. Clearly, a great climate for cattle.
In the first week of June, Kansas, particularly southwestern Kansas, had a series of storms roll through and with it, several inches of rain. A large, high pressure system followed the rain storms, bringing extremely high temperatures for Kansas and more than 70% of the nation. These extreme weather changes proved to be the “perfect storm” for the Kansas feedlots.
Neither the heat or rain are unfavorable to cattle. Cows can do quite well in areas of heat or humidity given that they have time to acclimate to their climate. But with the jump in both humidity and heat, the feeder cattle had no time to adjust and became extremely stressed. In addition to the humidity and extreme heat, the area also experienced little wind, which helps cattle cool in hot temperatures. The heat stress continued to intensify when temperatures remained high into the night, and even continued to rise in some areas.
Heat bursts, the localized and sudden increase in surface temperature, were confirmed to have hit Ashland, Kansas where it jumped to 103 degrees just after 10:30 pm. This proved to be the final piece of that “perfect storm” for some of those feeder cattle.
Cattle depend on the cooler night hours to dissipate the heat they have accumulated throughout the day. Cattle normally do not sweat effectively and cool themselves largely through panting or their respirations. As humidity increases, panting becomes less effective and their heat load increases. It can take cattle up to six hours after the environmental temperature peak to dissipate their heat load, meaning that it is well into the night before they cool from a hot day.
When the temperature remains high, their heat load builds to such an extreme level that their body can no longer handle the stress, leading to decreased organ function, then organ failure, and eventually death. It has been noted that approximately 10,000 head of cattle have died across the state due to the extreme heat, 2,000 of them in the area of the reported rare heat bursts.
Feedlot owners are doing their best to recover from the loss, but in many ways there is little that they can do
ON THIS DAY
other than care for the cattle they still have and hope for the best in the future. While this may be the first major cattle loss due to extreme heat we have seen, it isn’t the first major loss from a natural disaster we have seen in even the last several years. Forest fires, floods and blizzards have devastated operations across the world. Fortunately, amidst these most trying times, we continue to see the agriculture community work to help one another rise up and find success.
1683 William Penn signs friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape indians in Pennsylvania; only treaty "not sworn to, nor broken"
1784 The first US balloon flight (13 year old Edward Warren)
1819 First editions of "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." by Washington Irving released, featuring story "Rip Van Winkle" typewriter, the first commercially successful of its kind
1926 The College Board administers the first SAT exam in USA 1938 Marineland opens in Florida-first aquarium
1949 First twelve women graduate from Harvard Medical School
140th Anniversary
Last week, the Oneida County Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the county’s new Development Code. The Code, which was contracted to a professional codification consultancy, will replace the existing development code governing the county, which, as many of the speakers mentioned, was assembled from a number of disparate elements over the last two decades. Some elements of the former code were found to be in contradiction to other elements, and some were found to be unclear. There were also a number of issues which have arisen in development over the last several years that are not clearly defined in the prior code, leading to a number of current issues for both the commission and the county.
Representatives of the company who has written the new code, as well as most of the Planning and Zoning Commission, were on hand to present the major points of the new code, as well as respond to questions from an active and engaged public on building issues.
The consultants began by explaining that “what we’re here tonight for is to discuss the work we’ve done to create this new code. It’s been a very big project—we were retained to draft an updated building and development code.” Cherese McLain served as the legal counsel for the codifiers, and has extensive experience in legal issues related to land-use and administration. She stressed that the new code is considerably longer than the one it replaces because “It’s important to try to think of everything possible. If your code stays silent, you don’t have a lot of authority when things come up. The volume of the code is designed to protect the county against as much as possible.”
Mike Williams, the primary author of the document in question, has had a lot of experience developing code for similar counties. He started his career in Gem county, which he described as “very similar to here, very rural. I went to my first Zoning meeting and thought ‘wow this is pretty neat.’ I work with codes daily—day in and day out. What we found was ‘some of it was good, but it was kind of piecemeal. So we’ve written a code that ties everything together. This will allow the county to have growth pay for itself.’”
The hearing itself was the penultimate step in getting the new code passed. Public and Commission feedback from the meeting will be incorporated into a draft that will next be presented for public comment at the Board of County Commissioners meeting. The Board will ultimately decided whether or not to adopt the code after said hearing.
County Attorney Cody Brower was in attendance to represent the legal interests of the county, but also to speak as someone who has been involved with the development issues affecting it over the last many years. “I’ve lived here a while, and I’ve seen a lot of the issues that have led to these changes. My first experience was the Cherry Creek gas station. A lot of people were upset that we couldn’t do anything about it. The same thing happened later with a subdivision and worries about water. Many citizens have come forward very concerned about development. This board has been working on this for two to three years. Updating the code—which was not very coherent— was beyond our abilities so we brought on these good folks to help with it. These two were very kind when they referenced our old code… it was terrible. In the past what we’ve done is go to another county and adopt a provision from their provisions, but it would not relate to the rest of the code at all. It really had a lot of issues. This uniformity will very much help.”
One of the points that the all of the participants on the panel, as well as members of the public and several builders who addressed the crowd, made was that the biggest problem of the old code was its lack of uniformity. Because a clear sense of priority and connection between the subsections of the code is lacking, it often leads to inconsistent and conflicting applications of its provisions. The new code is based in the principle that clarifying all of the issues under a shared development philosophy will create a more transparent and effective set of policies.
As Mike Williams explained, the Code has sevenchapters. Chapter One provides Definitions for the various subjects that are discussed throughout the document. The number of pages devoted to definitions increased from four to 43, which allows for a much more specific understanding of the issues in question, as well as a clear breakdown of what is included in each.
Chapter Two deals with Base district regulations, and sets the county up with a clear set of Zoning designations, which primarily includes residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. In the past, Oneida county has been governed by a “multi-use” Zoning map, which allows for flexibility, but does not allow for as much control over planned development. One of the additions to the code is the designation “Rural Residential,” which allows for planned development in the areas of the county with larger land parcels to be determined. The Chapter explains the uses for each zone type, including their different setbacks and specific regulations. The chapter also explains overlay districts, which are regulatory districts laid over the top of general zone designations. This includes a more defined discussion of wildland districts/urban interface (WUI), which creates a fire management district on top of existing zones. Other overlay districts include the airport district and others.
Chapter 4 concerns regulations for all districts, which lays out the standard regulations, divisions, property adjustments, public/private road assignments, offstreet parking regulations, signs codes, temporary use conditions, outdoor assembly rules, street naming conventions, and numbering rules of all districts.
Chapter 5 concerns conditional uses, which can be applied to any of the existing zones. A public hearing process is required under the code to allow for a use outside of any area’s zoned uses, such as a daycare in a residential area. The landuse table is also included to outline what kinds of uses are pre-qualified under each zone type. There are specific use standards for 75 different specific uses.
Chapter 6 covers subdivision regulations, which have been a major source of concern over the last couple of years. The chapter covers clear protocols for minor, large-scale, and special development subdivisions. The chapter also covers the mitigation of impacts on school districts and covers design standards and required improvements. In this section, the Rural-Residential Zone regulations are discussed, as well as their density restrictions and guidelines.
Chapter 7 is the Administrative section, which covers how ordinances are administrated and enforced. The code’s developers stressed their belief in the importance of Development agreements tied specifically to zoning. The agreements allows for the specific design of requirements for development outside of zone requirements. Chapter 7 covers the administration of Hearings, etc. They can include the institution of sureties—money that has to be posted at 150% of the project cost in case a developer backs out of a project.
After the presentation of the Code itself, the Commission and the writers discussed some of the issues that may not have made it directly into the code, such as regulations on semi-permanent or non-permanent residences across the county. This mostly applies to campers and fifth wheels on residential lots.
The codifiers raised some issues, following up on the Commission’s feedback, that they think are important moving forward with the code.
The county has recently adopted highway standards. The codifiers recommend that the county adopt the highway standards into the Dev Code wholesale, in the interests of unifying building throughout the county.
The language defining buildings designated as “Ag” was suggested to include further clarification. At present, land zoned as “Agricultural” allows for an Ag building permit, though this can often be exploited to build a range of buildings with non-ag purposes. Buildings which are designed to house boats or non-ag storage are often built under this designation, which will now become prohibited under that permit. Cabins, or other buildings which are used for human habitation, will also be prohibited under the designation.
The consultants also wanted to allow residence in a non-permanent structure (such as a trailer) on property while a house is under construction, for one year while the primary residence is being built on same property being occupied. The consultants and commission both clarified that no new address for an RV will be granted for a property under construction. The address is rather assigned to the property. They also recommend that no address be issues to RVs at all. It was explained that skirting requirements can be required by the building inspector.
Some language regarding subdivisions was changed to give PZ more flexibility to determine/gauge required elements such as water availability. Language about access roads was also discussed.
It was determined that Planning and Zoning member term limits should comply with Idaho State Code.
The Planning and Zoning Commission wondered whether it would be a good idea to create a zoning designation for “Recreation.” The consultants felt that the recreational uses in reference to places that might need them— Devil Creek Reservoir, Deep Creek, etc—were already covered under zoning definitions, though they explained that it would be possible to create a zone labeled “Public” for parks or other kinds of county facilities.
Cody Brower reminded the public that the hearing was designed to generate potential feedback leading to any changes in the proposed Development Code. The process will involved at least one more public meeting, and so the draft the PZ Commission looked at was not meant to be the last word on the document.
After the consultants and board had presented the highlights of the document, the meeting was turned over to members of the public to provide feedback and ask questions.
Local resident Susan Wittman expressed concern about the potential for the grandfathering in of properties which would be in violation of new standards. Cody Brower explained that any pre-existing structures which were in violation of either the new or the prior code would be subject to remediation. “If something was illegal before, it’s still illegal,” he said.
This led the panel to a discussion of Conditional use permits, which can be applied for in each of the zones. The new code stressed that conditional use is used to create exceptions to the code for specific additions to projects, though planning will be a priority. There are extra prerequisites for certain types of buildings, which will require 600 feet of notification, such as meat packing facilities, quarries, airports, ag processing buildings, jails, racetracks, dumps, towers, and others.
When asked what the county would do about limiting the potential for developers to begin projects which involve the digging of wells, Chairman Josh Paskett explained that ultimately that was a state issue, though the county could require a study by a licensed hydrologist to determine the feasibility of the water supply in the area.
Local developer Brad Hess raised a point about the wording in the code, which would require two acres lots for any development which required a well and a septic system, though the prior code had set that size to one acre. The issue was discussed by the stakeholders from the county, and it was decided to recommend amending the language to reflect the one acre standard.
The main source of public discussion at the hearing was the new “Rural Residential” designation. In short, the overlay or zone would limit residences in the zone to one per 40 acres, with an attempt to “cluster”. The residences would be located in adjoining quarters as much as possible to leave farmland separated out. A number of questions about how those density and planning elements would be enforced were raised.
Derek Wilson, of the Oneida County Fire Department raised some questions about the specifics of the setback and burn period regulations. The panel agreed that they would like to consult further with the Fire Chief before finalizing those elements of the code, as the input from the Fire District was essential to smart planning.
The next major public question had to do with the aforementioned ag buildings. The proposed code allows for an “ag Building permit” (which is less cumbersome than other permits) on land of at least five acres, which is zoned Agricultural, and clearly designated for an Ag purpose. Building on smaller plots or out of Ag zoning will require an accessory structure permit.
The question of whether there will be any land in the county zoned for commercial use was raised. PZ explained that there was not any commercial land in the current map, though this stage of the process was the primary one in which people might suggest such zoning. The pubic hearing with the Board of County Commissioners would be another place to raise those concerns. Mike Williams explained that preemptively creating commercial districts can actually lead to zoning problems in the future, and it was easier to zone them as the need arose and the course of development became clearer.
The public hearing was then closed, and the public was invited to view the maps laying out the proposed zoning changes. The public is encouraged to bring forward any changes that feel need to be made to the plan.
Josh Paskett motioned to recommend the new ordinance adopting the development code, along with changes from the public hearing, for approval by the BoCC. A second motion for recommending the zoning map with changes stated on record to BoCC was also made. Both passed.
Malad City Water Restrictions
Watering is allowed only during the following hours: 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• To avoid further restrictions, do not water every day. • This applies to both Deep Creek and City Culinary Water. • The only exception to the hours will be given to owners who have sprinkling systems with timers. • No open hoses are allowed on the Deep Creek System.
Fines will be given in accordance to
Malad City Ordinance No. 443.
This Will Be Strictly Enforced!
