Jefferson County denies YESCO billboard appeals after lengthy public hearing

The Board of Jefferson County Commissioners voted to deny appeals from an outdoor advertising company that sought permission to erect multiple off‑premise billboards in and near the Palisades industrial park and at a second location in the county.

Planning and zoning administrator Milton Alderton told the board that the Planning & Zoning Commission had unanimously denied the conditional‑use permit requests after concluding the proposed billboards exceeded the county sign‑size table on area and height, did not meet the setback formula in the county code and (for the Palisades sites) fell inside the airport transition zone where height limits apply. Milton also said the applications lacked evidence of coordination with the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD), which the county relies on for highway‑facing sign standards.

“Based on the sign‑size table, the proposed 672‑square‑foot displays exceed the allowed area for a 3.8‑acre lot by 472 square feet and are 15 feet taller than the county’s 35‑foot height standard,” Milton said in his staff presentation. He recommended denial because the proposals, as filed, did not demonstrate compliance with county code or with ITD requirements.

Representatives for the applicant, who identified themselves as Seth and (Bridal) Saunders of Gosselin/YESCO, argued that Idaho statute gives ITD primary authority over billboard size, lighting and spacing and that the company would meet ITD requirements if the state’s permit process were completed. Seth Saunders offered several concessions — including lighting shields, a nighttime curfew on illumination and pigeon‑control measures — and said the company was willing to adjust setbacks if that would address county concerns.

Seth Saunders: “We’re trying to be a community player — we reduced our initial plan and proposed only three signs in the business park — and we’re willing to add shields and a curfew,” he said.

Multiple nearby residents urged denial, citing safety and visual‑character concerns. “Any signage that pulls attention off the curve approaching the overpass creates a hazard,” said Damon Nichols, who lives adjacent to the site. Retired law‑enforcement officer Wallace Wiesner pointed to local crash history and told commissioners he had responded to hundreds of collisions and saw distracted driving as an ongoing risk.

Commissioners and the county attorney noted a second, independent legal issue at one of the contested locations: several signs would sit on the inside edge of a county road right‑of‑way rather than directly on Highway 20 or Interstate‑15. The county code permits off‑premise billboards only along those higher‑order highways, and staff said the parcel’s location therefore removed that application from the category of permitted off‑premise signs under local rules.

After public comment and questions from the commission, the board voted to deny the three combined appeals for the Palisades sites (appeals 23‑0903, 23‑0904 and 23‑0908) and later denied the separate appeal 23‑0907. Each denial followed staff findings that the applications as filed did not establish compliance with the sign‑size table or with required site documentation (recorded deed / written leasing consent) or with placement standards that the county enforces.

Milton Alderton told the board he would amend his staff report to note, explicitly, that off‑premise signs are allowed only along Highway 20 and I‑15 in Jefferson County and that the particular county‑road location at issue did not meet that criterion.

Next steps: the company may revise its applications and reapply with additional materials (deed/easement evidence, ITD correspondence, revised setbacks or reduced sign area) but, for now, the county decisions stand. The board’s action preserves the Planning & Zoning Commission’s determinations and leaves open the option for a corrected application or legislative code change if the county chooses to update its sign ordinance.

(Reporting is based solely on the Jefferson County public meeting transcript and the staff materials presented to the board.)