Residents along a rural road in Gooding County are appealing an approval for a farm to build a new agricultural sorting and packing facility, which they said was granted without public safety in mind.
The county's planning and zoning commission signed off on a special use permit last fall for JK Potatoes, based in Rupert, to construct a new melon-sorting facility in Bliss in an agricultural zone.
Nearby residents are concerned that traffic will continue to increase on the old Bliss Grade and River Road, which they said are not equipped to handle the large commercial trucks.
"You cannot tell people, 'It's okay to send your farm trucks down roads,' where the evidence is, they can't stay in their own lane because the lane's not wide enough -- that's a huge safety issue," said Patrick Brown, a lawyer who was representing 68 appellants during a Gooding County Commission appeal hearing last week.
Some submitted photos of trucks driving over the center line or in the middle of the hilly and windy rural road.
David Jentzsch of JK Potatoes said he started his watermelon business, Hagerman Canyon Farms, when he was 17, and it's grown ever since. It now supplies watermelons and pumpkins to grocery stores such as Albertsons and WinCo.
Jentzsch said it takes 1,000 trucks going into and out of the farm to bring the produce to markets around the West during the 100 day harvest. He expects production to double with the addition of the new facility.
But he said this agricultural production is in line with the county's comprehensive plan.
"You can't try and force a residential rule in an agricultural area," he said.
During the hearing, he also cited Idaho's 1981 "right to farm" law, which calls farming a "natural right," and seeks to protect agriculture from "nuisance lawsuits," in part to prevent the loss of farmland.
Gooding County Commissioners will discuss the special use permit appeal during a meeting Tuesday morning.
Find reporter Rachel Cohen on Twitter @racheld_cohen
Copyright 2023 Boise State Public Radio
