Fifth District Court Judge Robert J. Elgee has placed strict limits on who Cove Springs developers can call on to discuss statements they made about the project.
Elgee's ruling trims a sweeping list of subjects the developers hoped to call upon to bolster their case against Blaine County. The three-member Blaine County Commission unanimously rejected the subdivision project last year on Oct. 18.
The judge's decision is only the latest step in a development process that landed Blaine County in court and then in a mediation process with the developers.
Not long after they filed their lawsuit on Jan. 8 of this year, the Cove Springs developers submitted a long list of discovery requests seeking information from numerous parties involved in both large and small ways in the Cove Springs hearings. The developers sought to subpoena information from public and private entities who submitted oral or written comments during the several-year Cove Springs hearing process before the Blaine County Commission and county Planning and Zoning Commission.
These included representatives from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wood River Land Trust, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Smart Growth and staff with the county P&Z department. The developers' Jan. 15 request asked for all documents containing any reference to the Cove Springs application and related matters.
The Cove Springs developers also requested items from the third parties related to the development application that were included in e-mails, Word processing files—including prior drafts, deleted files and file fragments—and all voice messages.
They further requested all documents containing opinions, analyses and recommendations concerning any proposed subdivision or development application presented to the county from Jan. 1, 1999, forward.
On Oct. 31, Elgee ordered that all documents related to these discovery requests be unsealed. The unsealed documents show that in the months before, Elgee strictly limited who the developers could subpoena to provide evidence in the case.
Elgee's order "narrowed the discovery that was allowed," he explained during a phone interview with the Idaho Mountain Express on Thursday.
Not only do his rulings bar Cove Springs from calling on many of the entities they had hoped to bring in, the questioning was limited in most cases.
Elgee appears to have placed the loosest reins on Cove Springs in regards to their request for discovery on former Blaine County Commissioner Sarah Michael, who held her seat during the entire deliberations before the county.
The judge also allowed limited discovery to take place on Wood River Land Trust executive director Scott Boettger and local water expert Wendy Pabich. The judge rejected a number of other discovery requests, such as for County Commissioners Tom Bowman and Larry Schoen, current and former county P&Z staff and local residents who commented during the deliberations.
But the ruling may not ultimately matter. Last September, county officials and Cove Springs developers finished a long series of mediation talks spanning six long sessions covering 40 hours. Out of the talks, the developers agreed to come up with a revised development application and submit it to the county for consideration, which has happened.
In exchange for the county agreeing to consider the new application, the developers agreed to ask Elgee to place a temporary halt on their lawsuit until the revised development plan is considered. The judge granted that request on Oct. 31.
The developers did reserve their right to restart the lawsuit if the revised application process does not proceed to their liking.
