'Insufficient evidence' kills Wallace road validation

WALLACE — The Shoshone Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) denied a petition on Tuesday morning that would’ve validated a portion of Weyer Gulch Road in Wallace.

Petitioners Ryder Gauteraux and Chuck Jones had presented their evidence in favor of validating the old forest road to the BOCC during a public hearing on Feb. 22.

Their hopes were to use historic records of bridges and homes in order to show a history of maintenance and upkeep by the county, so if the road were to be validated, a proper crossing could be installed which would allow them to cross over the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River on the east end of Wallace to access their lands on Wallace’s south hill — instead of driving through the river like they had been doing previously.

Several locals spoke against the validation during the hearing as well, arguing that the road that Gauteraux and Jones were looking to have validated wasn’t part of the public right of way and that due to multiple layers of ownership near the crossing point, that the county would have to step over several different owners — including the Idaho Department of Transportation — in order to validate it and make it public.

During the hearing, mountains of evidence were presented by both the petitioners as well as those against the validation, including nearly two hours of recorded audio testimony from the hearing which ultimately necessitated the need for the continuance.

BOCC chairman Mike Fitzgerald outlined a few points as the reason for his denial, those being an attempt to follow Idaho codes and laws as closely as possible, weighing the benefit of public access against the reality of creating a public road — this includes who has stewardship over the road as it makes its way through public and private lands.

Fitzgerald’s final point in determining his decision was a lack of key evidence during the hearing that showed any sort of history of county interest regarding this particular road — including maps, records of maintenance, or any record of county expenditure.

“If you look at our track record, this board has been against and is against the closure of roads which provide public access to public lands,” Fitzgerald said. “I believe the applicant provided insufficient evidence for the record to support validation.”

Both commissioners Jay Huber and John Hansen acknowledged that they wrestled with their decision, as they support access to public lands like Fitzgerald previously pointed out, but ultimately they both felt that what Fitzgerald had outlined in his determination was the right course of action and the petition was unanimously denied.

Gauteraux and Jones now have 28 days to re-petition if they so choose, this would require a new hearing and would allow any new evidence to be brought forward.