This letter is to inform you of recent events that have taken place in Washington County government that will affect the future of our area and our way-of-life. All of this information came from the official meeting minutes of the Washington County Board of Commissioners. You may agree or disagree with what is currently happening but we want you to be aware of how these changes are being made. Only informed citizens can make informed decisions.
- July 2024, the Washington County P & Z Commission submitted their two-year work on revisions on County code to close legal loopholes on ag land divisions. The County Commissioners decided to wait on hearings and a decision until after the elections.
- Since January 13, 2025, executive (closed) sessions during the County Commissioners’ meetings have been common and lengthy. There are valid reasons for executive sessions. However, the Idaho Attorney General states, “Open meetings offer the public a chance to observe the way their government operates and to influence their government in positive and important ways. Closed meetings often can lead to distrust of governmental decisions and acts.” A private citizen questioned the commissioners during a meeting about this on April 28. Lengthy executive sessions have continued.
- On May 5, Prosecuting Attorney True Pearce read a letter to the Board on the record regarding the interpretation of County Code received from Holland & Hart, LLP. Pearce also read the third-party review of the accuracy and legal reasonableness of the memorandum of opinion previously prepared by Mr. Pearce, dated April 7, 2025. No motion was ever made publicly by the County Commissioners asking Mr. Pearce to review the County Code or for County funds to be expended for outside legal counsel.
- May 12, Nate Marvin moved, seconded by Gordon Wilkerson (immediately following an executive session), “to direct Bonnie Brent and the Planning and Zoning Department to honor the settlements that were negotiated by the current Prosecuting Attorney and to further direct Bonnie and Planning and Zoning to follow code as written as per the Memorandum of Opinion from the current County Prosecuting Attorney, and if P & Z has any legal questions, to contact the County Prosecuting Attorney”. Motion carried unanimous. This motion effectively allowed unlimited 20-acre splits with building permits on agricultural land. A landowner who had been denied a building permit previously was awarded a permit because of an undisclosed tort claim. Final decisions for Planning and Zoning were given to the Prosecuting Attorney. By state code, this is a duty explicitly given to County Commissioners.
- On May 19 and again on May 27, a group of concerned citizens met with the County Commissioners to express their concerns about the new “interpretation” of County code and asked that the Commissioners enact an emergency moratorium to stop any splits/building permits resulting from the new “interpretation” by the Prosecuting Attorney for 182 days until possible code changes could be made. On May 27, Mr. Marvin and Mr. Harberd voted to enact the moratorium. On June 2, Mr. Marvin and Mr. Harberd moved to have the PA add language to explicitly remove A2 zoning. On June 9, the amended moratorium was approved by the board and among other changes stated, “A temporary moratorium is hereby imposed on the acceptance, processing, or approval of any application or request for land use development or land division involving property zoned A1 – Agricultural under the Washington County Zoning Code.” This change shut down all splits/building permits in the A1 zone of the County.
- On May 23, Ron Jaeger, the Planning and Zoning Commission chairman, was “served” a letter from the Prosecuting Attorney and accused of “reading legal interpretations of Idaho statutes and county code into the record” and unauthorized practice of law “which is a criminal offense”. Mr. Jaeger has obtained legal representation at his own expense.
- On June 17, the Washington County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted ’no confidence’ in the leadership of the Prosecuting Attorney concerning Planning & Zoning. Mr. Pearce had “fired” the Planning and Zoning outside legal counsel, a well-respected land use attorney when he assumed office.
- On July 7, Bonnie Brent-Dowell resigned as Planning and Zoning administrator.
Also on July 7, Mr. Marvin read a letter into record, reprimanding the Planning and Zoning Commission for not working with the Prosecuting Attorney and then telling them to “get along.” Three days later, Mr. Marvin moved, Mr. Wilkerson seconded during an emergency meeting to remove all existing P & Z members from the Commission before any P & Z meetings had been conducted. Also, on July 10, the moratorium was rescinded.
- July 14, the County Commissioners moved to conduct a public hearing on August 7 at 4:00 p.m.for a reorganization of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Currently, the proposal is to reduce the number of P & Z commissioners from 9 to 5, and reducing the years required to have lived in Washington County from 5 years to two years. UPDATE: This meeting has been changed from August 7 to August 21 at 4:00 p.m. at the Weiser City Vendome.
- Multiple tort claims and lawsuits have been filed against the County, present/former elected officials, and employees in the last several months.
There has been a long-standing dispute over property rights and agricultural land in Washington County, and codes can and should be changed according to the will of the people of the County. However, there are open and legal processes available to make those changes. Is a newly-elected prosecuting attorney’s “interpretation”, which contradicts years of County Code implementation and precedent, suitable for sweeping changes in our County landscape?
Several of us have repeatedly spoken to the County Commissioners about our concerns but we cannot do it alone. There is another small, but very loud and often rude group that is screaming changes to our code and even doing away with existing zoning and orderly process. We need YOU to get involved. Please understand this is extremely important. Feel free to contact any of us listed below with your questions. We will provide you with any information that we have gathered.
Royce Schwenkfelder idahoreds@gmail.com
Ron Jaeger rkjaeger3243@gmail.com
Frank and Mary Schwartz fmjamv1@gmail.com
Deb Warren dananddebwarren@gmail.com
