Bruce Willis lives in Hailey, ID and owns land not too far away near Fairfield. He wanted to build a private airstrip on his land. This land isn't in the same county as the elitist Hailey/Ketchum/Sun Valley. It's still farm and ranch country, largely Mormon, and they don't like celebrities doing whatever they like. Willis got the permit and started grading. However, the county quickly realized that the zoning was strictly agricultural and shut him down. It was a dumb mistake on their part but someone probably figured that hey, he's Bruce Willis! He asked the country commissioners for rezoning and they agreed so work started again. However, neighbors sued. The judge said that the commissioners acted illegally when they changed the zoning and voided the permit. It's not likely to go higher in the court system. No airstrip. Shucks.

Gawd, it must really suck to have neighbors.

hows the airstrip detrimental to that area?

I'm on his side, if it's his land why can't he build an airstrip? I know a few guys with private airstrips, they didn't ask anyone for permission. What the heck is "zoning for agriculture"? There are places where you have to have permission to grow stuff?

Too many California ideas in Idaho

He needs to grow corn.

(Neo)Conservatives only care about private property rights when it's their property but are more than happy to show their liberal colors when it's someone else's property they want to control. F'ckin hypocrites. Pretty funny that the mormons want to dictate what others can do since they never liked being told that they can't have more than one wife or that their wife had to be older than a child.

Or maybe they just think laws are to be enforced. If you don't like Mormons, Idaho may not be your best bet.

Willis is a good old boy and Mormons belong to a cult.

Funny you say that, but the idea behind zoning for AG use is to preserve the land for Agricultural use. You must enjoy all those 5 acre ranchettes that have replaced large tracts of productive land.....Good thing those ranches were'nt zoned and the landowner was able to sub divide his land.

Subdividing into ranchettes is a substantial and irrevocable change to agricultural land. An airstrip might not be viewed as quite so drastic an alteration.

If Willis can find one rancher with his own airstrip (which wouldn't be hard) he's got a good chance at an appeal, if he chooses to do that.

I wouldn't know about them, that's a california (or Idaho) thing. Whether or not I enjoy them is irrelevant if the guy wants to break up his property and sell it. It's his property and should be his decision.

I'm a staunch believer in private property rights. If someone wants to keep land in agriculture then buy it and plant something.

This is one of those lose lose situations you get when you don't work together with your neighbors in a rural area. You let your neighbors know your planned use, ask them what you can do to make it work for them (limited flights and hours and avoiding homes on the path, the Fred a ride in a medical emergency) feed them at a BBQ and see if that works. At worst your neighbors think you are an ok guy and don't look to cause problems for you.

If that doesn't work screw them and build a long strait road to your new big barn that happens to fit a plane.

I have a hard time siding with anyone but Willis on this one....

Zoning is a joke, and even moreso outside the limits of an incorporated city.

Tell him to land on the county road like the farmers with planes. It was surprising flying over eastern Washington farm country back in the 80's how many farms had planes and no runways.

Lol. That's the last thing mormons care about, laws. Their multiple wives, marrying and impregnating children are all laws that mormons don't GAS about but apparently an airstrip in "agriculturally zoned" areas are at the top of their morally superior adherence to the law.lol. Never mind the fact that Bruce was following the law irregardless of how f'cking stupid the law is. He went through the permitting process and re-zoning process legally so the ridiculous argument that the mormons really care about the law is shot to hell on its face.

I don't have anything against the good folks I've known that were Mormon nor do I much care what they do on their "compounds", short of pedophillia but for them to throw a hissy fit over an airstrip in the middle of nowhere is disingenuous and hypocritical. I bet if Bruce was a Mormon there'd be no problem at all.

But yeah, they're so concerned about the law, that's it. Mountain Meadows redux?

Well ... maybe it's time for poor old Bruce to get a helicopter instead. Maybe something like a Sikorsky S-92 VIP: They run anywhere from $17,000,000 to $30,000,000, depending on how they are configured / outfitted. Max speed is 194 mph and a range of 590 miles:

Zoning for AG protects the farmer/rancher . Certain areas are zone Rural Residential, Planned Public Commercial. Community Commercial All are mean to locate different land uses to specific areas .Usually, Agriculture Zoned land is taxed less, but in Colorado at least, you have to be growing something, raising livestock and such. Depends if Willis planned on landing a Cessna or a 727 jet. These zoning restrictions are in place because of some butt holes have no sense of common decency regarding the treatment of neighbors. Evidenced by some of the replys here. Property rights end where they affect my property. I shouldn't have to put up with race track next to me unless it was approved before I moved in and my neighbor should not have to put up with a feed lot feeding out 200hea of beef next to him unless it was approved before he moved in.

Sadly, private property rights have pretty much gone away.

EE is spot on when he mentioned the Morman good ol' boy club.

Bruce should have just built a road.

Airplanes can land on roads too.

No zoning here in Nebraska.....build whatever you want......if it falls on your head tough

I've seen zoning in municipalities. Never in rural areas.

More government control and overreaching.

My farm neighbor in ND has his own air strip. It's a non problem.

Buy a plane that can land in a field.

Like 49 other states, Idaho has zoning laws. Agricultural zoning keeps the land agricultural. Subdivisions, etc. are prohibited. The last thing we need is more of our farmland being paved over. Willis isn't farming. It's his private resort on what used to be a farm. He isn't above trying to go around local laws. His house in Hailey sits astride of the Big Wood River. Some years ago, he ric racked the river through his place to change it's flow. That's highly illegal but he got caught and had to restore it.

Let me add some other info about Camas County
land area 1079 sq miles
population 1039, under 1 person/sq mile
largest city and county seat: Fairfield, pop. 410 at 2010 census.
other city: Hill City, unincorp. (there are only 2 towns). IIRC, Hill City has a farm store. Only.

This is farm country. There is no other industry at all. The busiest retail outlet in the county is a convenience store and there's only 1 of them. They do have one outstanding hamburger place that sells cooked-while-you-wait burgers and real milkshakes. None of this McD crap.
The entire northern border is the Soldier Mtn range with some 10k+ bumps. It's elk country with a lot of deer and antelope thrown in just for the fun of it.

Were I him, I'd build the damned thing anyway.

It's not, of course.
OP somehow draws glee because someone he has never met wants to utilize their own land in a perfectly understandable way, but he is envious of said someone's net worth, so he is happy "they" trampled on his rights.
If it was a local "normal" citizen in the same quandary, OP would be outraged.

You're saying a whole lot more than you know. You made at least 3 statements that are incorrect, having no information whatever.

1) How many farmers are being paid to not farm? That's called CRP.

Here's how many in Camus County, and the total dollar amounts.

https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php...;page=county&yr=2014regionname=Idaho

Camas County, Idaho $5,112,619

https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=16025&progcode=total_cr&yr=mtotal

They aren't farming that, but getting paid our dollars...5 million of them to not farm.

2) The 49 other states have zoning laws inside city limits. Not in rural areas.

3) If you sell, or give 50 acres of your 100 acres to your son, you have subdivided it.

Is that prohibited too?

4) It isn't YOUR farmland getting "paved over".. It's HIS. Bought and paid for in America.

I thought New York and CA were bad.

This takes the cake.

Camus County Idaho Farmers took tax monies to the amount of $17.1 million dollars. Tax Payer dollars.

https://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=16025

Seems to me that Bruce wanting to build an airstrip would cost us less... Just sayin'.

Was a private airstrip on the bench here for years.
Was a grass strip.
Don't know what happened, but figured he moved or passed.
Anyway, that airstrip is now being farmed, had sprinklers set up the last time we drove past.
New growth was about a foot high, I think growing alfalfa.
Didn't seem to hurt that land much
Bruce and Demi irritated a lot of folks when they moved into that area years ago. I suspect this is payback, nothing more.

Laffin'.
Slave
Blessings.

Those zoning laws only go as far as the highest bribe. Then it becomes about whats good for the "community" and "local economy".

I recall passing a pretty big airstrip covered up with large private jets in Hailey which is about 40 miles from Fairfield. I believe every overpaid athlete/ entertainer, politician has earned the right to do anything they please. We need more private airstrips and diverting rivers for your own pleasure must be OK because only rich people can do it.

The clintons, kapernicks and willis have created and contributed nothing and can kiss my sphincter.


mike r

I was wrong. I can see that now.
If we can clean out one airstrip of jets and level one resort town, we will be on our way to an equal society, where all are one.
Nirvana.
Slave

P.S. Let's do one a week, every week.....
We could get there faster.

He shoulda said it was for a crop duster.

its not like he's building an airport. Its a damn 4 lane road 5000 foot long on his property.

My buddy in Arkansas did not build an airstrip. Just graded and grassed. Works fine for his needs, a vintage 30's wing over racer he built himself.

Fireball requests that this happens quickly so he can pick his next target to harass and run off the fire.....

I was on a county planning commission for a time...interesting stuff. Ag is ag for a reason - we had a case where the county planning dept shut down someone's doggy daycare on ag and the case was remanded to us. They didn't get a lot of sympathy from me with so much rural zoned land so close by (across the road...). I think the county council let them slide, though.

In our neck of the woods, the big liberal red herring is water shortage. Currently there is a moratorium on building on rural land with exempt wells. Lots of folks hung out to dry. The county council and the district court have imposed the rather onerous condition that the landowner must prove he's not harming senior water users (instream flow) in order to build. Total hose job. My term expired, I couldn't re-up due to redistricting, and they replaced me with the former local rep from a hard left agenda 21 NGO. The commission is a few members away from being a full commie echo chamber.

Winner !

Everybody preaching property rights until the jet wash from his leer jet is pointed at YOUR front door...lol. What about my property rights when I buy a piece of land that is zoned a certain way and the A-hole that moves in next door does something different? You want a fuggin airstrip, make sure it's allowed by the county (whoever) before you buy the place....

I have a place next to me that is a 14 acre lot....not worth much but can be a little extra irrigated pasture for my cows.....It was in a family probate battle for years and finally came up for sale. I called an appraiser and found out that in my zoning (AG-80) you have to have at least 20 acres to build a home on it.....this dropped the value of the parcel a lot. I made an offer based on the appraisal and some idiot payed nearly double because his equally mentally challenged realtor said he could build on it.... never bothered to check with the county. So now it still sits vacant, I imagine it will take the guy awhile to swallow his loss and sell it to me for what it's worth , but I'm patient.

Every year Sun Valley hosts the Allan Conference which is a big money media thing. One time I went by the Hailey airport during the conference. I had to stop and count the business jets. I couldn't see them all but I counted 75.
Another time I saw Arnold Swartznegger's personal jet there. It was right after he played in the Batman movie. It was painted black with 'Batman World Tour' in huge letters.

According to
Camas County, Idaho (ID) Religion Statistics Profile

There are 145 members of the Church of Jesus Christ Of latter Day Saints, (Mormons), a little less than 15% of the County.
That must be it!! they are taking over.
Polygamy went out over a hundred years ago for 99.9% of them.

Yes I am a Mormon, and only have one wife.
If I was going to join a cult it would be one without so many commandments
However at one time did have two dogs

[bleep] ignorance is bliss.. you must of got into grandpas cough medicine... Everything you just said about Mormons is false... don't confuse the LDS church with that whack job warren jeffs crew.. and the best part you say all Mormons are pedophiles.. you are class act

+1

Not Mormon, but know a few real well and that was one dumb-azzed statement.

I too, have some Mormon friends. Quite a few of them. Have hunted with them and their families.

They are fine upstanding people.

The LDS church has about as much use for Warren Jeffs and his bunch as the Baptist church does for Westboro.

I'm a Mormon and it pisses me off to know end that people to this day still think we have multiple wives and we marry 14 yr old girls...

Slave, I am not an advocate for an equal society and am certainly not one with most. I do not believe that wealth should allow one to lower the quality of life of your neighbors. Do unto others etc.


mike r

F^&k him if don't like the rules, MOVE!

If he gets four wives, airstrip would be OK !!

Perhaps I am dense....but exactly how does building an airstrip on privately owned land that is not being farmed affect those neighbors who do farm? I keep seeing "quality of life" and "your property rights end where my property begins" and "we cant lose our farmland..." Seems to me he isnt farming it anyway, and a plane landing now and again does absolutely nothing to inhibit others from doing so.

But..he is rich, so he must be wrong.

Understood, Bra.
I always thought you were a rational human beyond, before......:).

If he was starting an airport it would be one thing.
And I can tell you from daily experience that I would much rather have his Lear land once a month on that strip than listen to a thrush commander take off 20 times a day, 7 days a week, in season.

People who make ALOT of money spend a metric shít ton of money.......all the time.
Why is that a bad thing?
Sure, they can buy a 10,000 acre ranch, post it and keep out the common.........I'm not happy about that loss of rec property, (IF the rancher WAS allowing trespass before) but I understand it.
We would all probably do some version of it, if we could.....
Slave

I deal with LDS folks all time.
Great people.
Maybe not perfect, but who is? I haven't heard them claim to be Jesus, yet.
I would trust them over some of my own family losers any day.
Slave

He needs to buy a Helo so he can go to Walmart and not have to fight the traffic

The sad part with HatesNates is that he actually believes some of the drivel he posts. I'm not Mormon, but I've lived around them and have Mormon friends and his description of them is so far out in left field that it's not even laughable. It's retarded.

Alaska can't wait to gain his intelligent knowledge base.

To the I hate zoning laws crowd you need to move to Eastern Kentucky. You can block up as many junk cars ,boats washers and refrigerators as you can crowd on your place and then once you run out of room to stake out all of your fighting chickens and your dilapidated trailer collapses you can simply gather up all your chickens drag a slightly newer junk trailer onto to your mother in laws place and let your old place grow up in weeds. Never mind your neighbor across the road trying to keep his place neat to try and provide his kids with a decent place to live and to teach them a bit of pride and social responsibility. Because you're a free ain't nobody gonna tell me what to do American by God.

What is wrong if he builds an airstrip? It is not going to get much traffic.

I built an ultralight and I flew it out of the cow pasture on the farm where I was renting a little house. So I turned that cow pasture into an airstrip, and I didn't get a permit!! I guess we didn't need permits down in central Georgia.

It has to do with how the land is zoned.. mr Willis couldn't even build a building on that land cause it's zoned farmland.

I don't understand why it can't be rezoned out of agriculture. He's clearly never going to use it as farmland while he owns the property. At this point it's just limiting what a rich private landowner can do. It's not like his "farmland" is contributing directly to the local economies. Let the guy do what he wants, it's his land and I'm sure he pays taxes on it.

What you do on your property is your business, unless it affects your neighbor.

I support farm and farmers, they supply much of my food. However, I constantly hear of low prices/over production, the need for protecting/increasing farmland and paying people not to farm. Hmmm? My understanding of economics has me cornfused?

I like how you think.
Its not unusual to see a private airfield, of sorts, out in the WY boonies. Crop dusters, outfitters, etc. I'll bet its not unusual for Idaho either. Small rural communities tend to be clannish. Best though to shake some hands and try to negotiate first.

Interesting thread. I always suspected zoning also has something to do with land development. What if somebody bought the Willis land and wanted to build condos for the disadvantaged? His land, his right to do so?

It would have to get rezoned to residential.

The purpose of zoning is to control land development.

There's an area about 20 miles from where this is but in Blaine County, home of the Sun Valley liberals. It's ranch land and the county wants to keep it that way for scenic reasons. Then the idiocy starts. Only a Democrat could come up with this one. They don't want it subdivided or developed so they passed an ordinance to limit subdivisions to 20 acre or larger plots. Then, to increase tax revenues, they appraised the farm land as if it was subdivided into house sized plots, even though it wasn't subdivided at all. They really tried to screw the ranchers on taxes. It went to court and their zoning plan was thrown out. It was an outrageous deal to start with.