Fruitvale Store Zoning Questions
On Monday, May 13th, the Adams County Commissioners met for their first meeting of the month. District 1 Commissioner, Joe Iveson, was out of town, but called in via phone for the meeting. The commissioners discussed proposed changes in building permit fees with building inspector Kody WIlliams. Commissioner Viki Purdy supported increasing the fee for mobile homes especially, because they have historically been a hassle for the county to handle. The proposed changes will be made ready for public input shortly.
Next, Fruitvale residents Heidi and Michael Miller wanted to discuss issues pertaining to the building department’s requests regarding opening the Fruitvale General Store. The Millers purchased the building that was the old Fruitvale Mercantile and Post Office last summer, and have been restoring it with plans to reopen the store at the end of the month. According to Building Inspector Kody WIlliams, they were advised to apply for a permit before doing any structural work, but they have decided not to do any structural work on the building. He then advised them to apply for a change of use permit. Michael Miller said there has been no change of use, however, as it has been used as both a store and a residence for a long time. He also said he feels like this is government overreach. They are weeks away from opening and now they are getting a call from the building inspector. Heidi Miller added that when they first purchased the building they called to ask about what they needed to do and were told nothing, since there was no change of use. Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, clarified a few things. Fisher said the main issue was parking. Per ordinance, commercial use requires one parking space per 400 sq ft. Fisher said if you are bringing a property that has been historically used up to compliance they don’t need a conditional use permit, but that parking is still required. Micheal Miller said the parking is an issue because while they have several parking spots available in front of the store, they are too close to the road. The ordinance says that parking must be 30 ft off the right of way on the road, and that starts in the middle of the porch. Sheriff Ryan Zollman said “You’re not wrong, that was a wagon road.” Zollman said his concern is only the parking and it has been a problem prior to them purchasing the residence. He said in his opinion they need to be creative and find somewhere to park. The commissioners were concerned about having to enforce the ordinance, especially after the Millers had gone all this way and were about ready to open. Commissioner Iveson said the ordinances have come into play way after that building was built. He said he’d like to do a little more research, but they can’t help how the building was built 80 years before the ordinance was written. Iveson said he doesn’t think ordinances apply to that building, because it’s not even possible, they’d have to tear it down and rebuild it. Commissioner Purdy added that the financial burden would be ruinous if they were to enforce it. Michael Miller said “our intention is to be good members of the community, good neighbors.” Heidi Miller added that they currently had two trailers taking up some of the better parking spaces, but they were leaving before the store would open. The Millers have also worked out an agreement with a neighbor to use their field as parking for special events or times when they are expecting a larger crowd. Meredith Fisher added that the ordinance does not say how or where the parking should be, so if they have spaces somewhere that are designated, they don’t necessarily need to be in front of the store. Commissioner Daren Ward said if they were coming to propose building something new like that, the commissioners would of course say no, but there is no way to enforce that with this property. “My opinion is the change of use does not fit,” he said. The commissioners all thought this was something they needed to allow based on the historical use of the property and how they would love to see the business open again.
Meredith Fisher, with Planning and Zoning, gave an update next. Everything they need to have Legacy Ranch reviewed is in. An application for a partial vacay and replat has been submitted for a property in New Meadows, it is in 45 day review. Another resident is applying for a hillside subdivision variance. There was some confusion about another parcel and whether they needed a variance to build, it was a one acre parcel created before 1981. They weren’t sure if they needed a variance because it was a legal split. Commissioner Ward said that either it sits there and goes into blight, or they allow people to have housing. Commissioner Purdy said they have to use common sense. Fisher said unfortunately her office has to be black and white about the ordinances, it’s up to the commissioners to figure out the gray areas. Brundage is trucking along. They would like a letter saying that their 14.1 requirement is satisfied forever, but she doesn’t want to write that it is good forever, just for now, which she feels is generous because it doesn’t perfectly comply. The contract for fire ends in August, so they want to make sure they are fully operational by then. She thinks they should write a letter saying it is satisfied for now. Commissioner Daren Ward liked the idea of just an administrative letter saying they are in compliance right now. Commissioner Iveson agreed.
Steve Shelton with Solid Waste wanted to address the dump day. He said it’s not a free dump day, it’s a reduced dump day, and the only thing that is reduced is tires. Car tires will go from $5 to $3 each, and big tires from $25 to $12.50. Prices on the gps was a lot more than he was expecting, but he has an idea to get it down. They discussed the source of funds for the expansion. Clerk Sherry Ward was concerned the funds are getting used up fast and the prices keep going up. Commissioner Wards said the problem with this project was there was never a budget to begin with. Shelton said they’re getting it done, they just don’t have the manpower to move faster.
Sheriff Ryan Zollman said there were 15 state inmates and 4 county. He also was concerned that the sheriff’s department has been having to manage cell phones for other county personnel. He said he’s not sure how they ended up with that task, but they don’t want it, and wasn’t that more of an IT thing? Commissioner Daren Ward said he’d prefer to see it all under IT. Sherry Ward mentioned that IT was pretty busy. Zollman said they are too. The Commissioners asked if Zollman would keep them and IT on their plan, Zollman said sure, he just doesn’t want it to grow.
Next Dana Harris and Dave Vining from the Forest service came to give an update on the upcoming fire season. Vining said they have about 15 vacant positions on the Payette, which is about average for the last few years. They were unable to staff one engine in McCall, but they have added capacity in Price Valley, and will now have one Type 2 and one Type 1 engine, which can seat more crew and carry water. There have been some helpful changes recently to help send the closest resources between regions. Last year there were 25 lightning fires and 5 human caused on the Payette, this was well below average. Human fires burned 26,051 acres, mostly from the Elk Horn in the Salmon River drainage. Lightning fires only burned 13 acres. They are at about 99% of normal for precipitation this year, however the snowpack is not as good, especially below 5000 ft. Snow Depth in McCall this year was 20 inches, last year almost double that. There was 100 inches of total accumulation this year, over 200 last year. The high country is better. Weiser River basin is about 86% of normal. They are predicting above seasonal temperatures, hotter and drier than normal for May, June, and July. It’s looking like a long, hot, dry summer. There was an El Nino pattern last year. The Payette is always on the boundary, so it’s not a good predictor for them, but the prediction is next winter we could be in La Nina, which would be colder and wetter. The Great Basin fire potential is higher than normal and he thinks that might carry over to Adams county. Slopes are already drying out, so there will be an earlier fire season.
Commissioner Viki Purdy asked what their policy is about fire suppression in the wilderness and roadless areas. Vining said it’s an individual decision based on the situation, but if it’s close to values, timber or homes, they usually put those out. If it’s far away in the wilderness or late in the season, they might let those burn. There are public facing cameras on Brundage and Tamarack, if there is a new fire, those will usually be pointed at it so they can monitor and the public can see what’s going on. Idaho power is also installing cameras and weather stations to help with monitoring.
Dana Harris said they are still doing prescribed fire. They did 600 acres over the weekend, and are now doing some logging slash cleanup. The sign pointing to Lost Valley Reservoir will be coming soon. Mill creek didn’t take the first time they tried burning it, they will be trying again today.
After Lunch the Commissioners had a 2025 budget review for Southwest District Health and an Executive session to consult with legal council.
