BOCC considers county boundary adjustment
The boundary that Shoshone County shares with both Latah and Clearwater County is currently described in Idaho Code 31-120 as "a line due North from the mouth of the North Fork of the Clearwater River," something that Latah County Surveyor John Elsbury calls "ambiguous and subject to interpretation." He now seeks to redefine the boundary in an effort which he said will benefit all counties involved.
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WALLACE — The Shoshone Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) heard a proposal from Latah County surveyor John Elsbury early this week to discuss his interest in forming a joint ordinance between Shoshone County, Clearwater County and Latah County.
If approved by all parties, the ordinance would seek to make legal changes to the common boundary shared between the three counties.
Currently, Shoshone, Latah and Clearwater counties are joined by a common line that meets at the mouth of the North Fork of the Clearwater River. Elsbury classified the current description of the boundary line as being ill defined by standing documents, calling it “ambiguous and subject to interpretation.”
In a legal resolution presented by Elsbury, the proposal explained that county assessors have over the years resorted to an informal agreement to locate the county boundary, making surveying and monumenting areas around the line both “difficult and expensive.”
“It has just been a thorn in the collective sides of the land surveying community and for the guys that have to put boundaries on the ground,” Elsbury told the commissioners.
If Shoshone, Clearwater and Latah counties proceed in requesting Idaho’s Legislature to pass a bill redefining their shared boundaries, Shoshone County would look to gain a total of 266 acres from the agreement.
Of that area, more than 260 acres are federally owned, leaving Shoshone with around 5.5 newly taxable acreage – none of which are currently being resided upon.
While the proposal has already been signed by Latah’s Board of County Commissioners, both Shoshone County and Clearwater County continue to hang in the balance.
Commissioner Jay Huber said the BOCC plans to review the proposal with Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Keisha Oxendine, as well as discussing the matter with leaders in Clearwater County before forming any conclusions.
“My opinion is that we table this until it runs through legal,” Huber said. “There are still questions to be answered, and we would like to see if and why there is hesitation from Clearwater County, but this is certainly a matter that we plan on addressing right away.”
The Shoshone News-Press will continue to monitor this developing story.