Guest commentary and report Last week I was alerted to a public meeting notice concerning a major decision relevant to Island Park, that was published in the Standard Journal, a newspaper 50+ miles away. The SJ is published in Madison County and is NOT distributed in Island Park. Fremont County has one newspaper and it is The Island Park News. Many have been watching for anything official. Many have heard the rumors for months. Many check the county map server two and three times a week watching for ownership changes relevant to the rumors. This buried public notice concerns Burtenshaw land on the west side of US 20, approximately 70 acres. Rumor has it that Burtenshaw's have sold to The Marriott who in turn plan to build another large hotel and even a convention center there? Many conjecture that the sale must be contingent on successful annexation and rezoning, as ownership is still in the Burtenshaw name and it is they who are requesting annexation and zoning changes. Both rumored buyers and would-be sellers are aware that these lands have conservation values in addition to how they are currently zoned. The entirety of lands on Henry's Lake Flat have critical land overlays relevant to wildlife, wetlands, open space, and continuity of conservation in this critical linkage that is identified as part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Burtenshaw Land and Cattle Company properties on The Flat have been for sale for some time. Many were hoping that The Nature Conservancy would buy these properties and have heard that TNC was interested but developers offered more. On the east side of US 20, 430 acres have been sold to Imperial Investment LLC, based out of Dillon, Montana, agent Kevin Buttons. Imperial Investments is a large hotel and land development company serving the hospitality industry and pursues luxury development projects with offices nationwide. Whether true or rumor, it is also being speculated that development of the 430 will feature high end homes with airplane hangers instead of garages, complete with a private small jet airport to service these homeowners. This private jet flight path will put these aircraft flying over The Flat, The Nature Conservancy, and surrounding private and forest lands. Both of these ‘rumors’, if true, will result in significant impacts and land use changes. In addition to concerns the private land sales present, we have the State of Idaho looking at development plans of their own. The Idaho State Department of Lands is looking to expand it’s investment portfolio through new leasing opportunities on public land. Once again, I encourage your own exploration of the county map server. There is a lot of IDL land on The Flat. Many have been working hard for the last two years trying to get IDL to address the growing negative effects and impacts of glamping operations in Island Park. IDL is remaining committed to these leases and is looking to make them permanent. We record requested the financial information on these leases. Last year IDL made approx. $57 thousand dollars from the 3 commercial glamping operations in Island Park. The 3 commercial glamping operations made nearly $700 hundred thousand dollars. These are monies that were taken directly from the Island Park economy. In conversations, IDL has stated that if they are not allowed to pursue the greatest financial return off of the public lands that they manage, they might just have to sell them off. IDL has provided no responsive inspections or oversight of glamping operations. State agency personnel did a quick tour of the 3 sites late last summer, they never got out of a car. We went and conducted comprehensive site tours of our own and provided pictorial evidence of the damage. This evidence shows deep scarring and ever enlarging negative footprints on the land, open fire pits, large shipping style storage containers that are set on-site and remain year round, water containment tanks, propane tanks, lumber and above ground wood platforms, buried power lines, at one site a complete underground septic system has been installed that includes underground sewage lines and buried human waste containment tanks, new roads are being made, sagebrush destroyed, and trees are being felled to increase site capacity. Here is a link to the share file that was created providing evidence of the damage to our public corpus lands. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1R8KjozIQRP8ZSzafTKR2LkQZ6elaqYeV?usp=sharing IDL has not issued any punitive actions for the multiple leasing violations, to our knowledge. A meeting that we have been waiting for months for still has not happened, we still wait for a response. We have been told that the glamping operations are still planning to be in business here in 2024. If you pursue IDL meeting notes, i.e. expanding the state land investment portfolio through new leasing opportunities, those ‘opportunities’ include glamping, cabins, short term rentals and commercial building leases/partnerships. Looks like the state of Idaho intends to become a developer too, using our public lands to do it. (See graphic) If you attended the last public viewing opportunity hosted by ITD and state agency plans for a future 4 lane on US 20, you saw the virtual tour video mock-ups and the large developments they drew in along the highway…. finally now it’s all coming together…is this huge development direction that ITD is really looking to build a highway for? Record requested meeting notes indicate they are having conversations about big future development coming to Island Park. Question: Have they ALL been talking and planning together all along? Fremont County is not going to stand up to protect our own county codes and comprehensive planning vision either. Our own county has approved serious examples of spot zoning and property-specific-favorable zoning and county code changes and has approved applications for developments that are being allowed where conservation values and protective overlays exist. One application at a time, Tom Cluff is working with developers at the county level to get private development plans approved through our county commissions. Over the last 5 years Fremont County has lost over 16% of our agricultural and rural landscape to development. On a personal note, I attempted to appear before the P&Z Commission to address these concerns. Tom Cluff denied me an opportunity to do so. He would not allow me on the agenda unless I told him what I wanted to say beforehand. In fact, at the end of our back and forth, he told me that my request was ‘monumentally stupid’. (He used the term ‘stupid’ twice). Further he stated, “that if I remained committed to the absurd idea of appearing before the P&Z without first giving him all of my information, he had no interest in hearing from me and I was not to approach him, his office, or any of his office personnel.” I fully intended to hide nothing from the P&Z. I was not bringing any application that required his review. I wanted to unburden all of these concerns and leave them with Fremont County P&Z, who IS TASKED with protecting the integrity of our county guiding policies, and also with determining compliance with our county codes and comprehensive planning. I intended to plead for our county commissions to investigate how we could weigh all of this with those plans. Tom Cluff’s conduct stands in violation of multiple Fremont County Personnel Policies and it is my contention that his conduct is highly unprofessional, rude and insulting, and stands as combative and non-compliant behavior. (Pg.8-12) https://www.co.fremont.id.us/DocumentCenter/View/1392/2021-01--Updated-Personnel-Policy It should also concern you, and you should be aware of two important facts. Fremont County currently has not fulfilled the code requirement of ‘no less than 7 and no more than 11’ P&Z commissioners. Currently, we have 6. The county website has not been updated to reflect that Commissioner Lawson no longer serves. In addition, Tom Cluff has been acting as the hearing officer for Fremont County without the authority to do so since 2018. A fact he has verified himself. Any approval giving him this authority must be voted on by a full P&Z Commission on a yearly basis. County Officials have been made aware of these facts and yet still operate thusly. All decisions made by either the non-code compliant P&Z commission or the hearing officer/administrator that is acting without authority, leave open the opportunity of Fremont County being vulnerable to challenges and lawsuit. Concerned and qualified members of the public who have been trying to correct our P&Z issues are being ignored, denied access, have had their own applications to serve on P&Z rejected, and the P&Z office has RECRUITED as a department, preferred commissioners to fill positions. I was also told recently in a public meeting that I should proceed forward trying to help this county by doing what I do best, putting my concerns to the press and the court of public opinion. I was told citizen advisory roles are not welcome, that people don’t want to attend meetings or care to be informed, that we elect public officials to do all that thinking and work for us, and that the problem with citizen advisory committees are that some of them ‘grow’ to think that they ‘have teeth’. This county should not dissuade or prevent any citizen from the Constitutionally guaranteed roll of public participation in our government. Fremont County should not fear any conversation that The Public that elects and funds them wants to have … whether it comes with teeth or not. In conclusion, it sure looks like a huge combined force is bearing down upon, and/or failing to answer the pleas and concerns of the quiet little community of Island Park. We have not been invited to know or participate, and it appears are also unwelcome in these important conversations that WILL IMPACT US ALL. We deserve a role in those conversations. All of these ‘plans’ are dependent on annexation, zoning changes, local, county and regional plans, and are counting on the continuing vacuum that has so far been unresponsive and challenging to the environmental concerns that are screaming in the silence of absent voices. The character and open space of the iconic Henry's Lake Flat and preservation protections we all assumed would stay in place forever are quietly being subverted. At every level, private, county-county wide, and state, developers are partnering and making plans that will forever change this beautiful place. In the dead of winter they make their most important moves hoping most of us won’t be here during winter season and that only few of us remain who are able to watch, see, and sound any alarm in time to make a difference. This is an all hands on deck call…everyone who loves Island Park and hopes to preserve and protect it…I hope you are listening? Please leave the sidelines, walk on the field and plant your feet, you are needed in the game. Thank you for considering this information. Leanne Yancey
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Making Sense of It All
This blog will help you make sense out of all the information on the website, how it affects IP, our history, and how efforts continue to put IP into various forms of conservation status. Archives
May 2023
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