BY KAREN BOSSICK

Camp Rainbow Gold has decided to appeal the Blaine County Planning & Zoning Commission’s recent denial of its conditional use permit application for a camp in East Fork.

Officials said Friday that they will review the adopted findings by the Planning & Zoning Commission and determine the course of appeal at that time. The findings are scheduled for signature on April 27.

Camp Rainbow Gold Board President Jeremy Chou said the board is confident it will build the camp in Blaine County, which has been its home for more than 25 years.

“We have come a long way to secure this property and stand by the strength of our application,” he said. “Our board has looked at all options and determined the best course of action is to pursue an appeal.”

Blaine County Planning & Zoning commissioners denied the conditional use permit application 4-3 on April 6.

The denial followed three well-attended hearings during which Camp Rainbow Gold officials revised several of its original plans to try to meet concerns. Officials pledged, for instance, not to use East Fork Road during peak commute hours and to restrict their use of the road by carpooling and other means. They also whittled the camp calendar from year-round to May through October.

A group of more than 50 East Fork homeowners hired Fritz Haemmerle to represent them in opposing the permit, saying the area being proposed for the camp is zoned for one family residence per 40 acres. The camp, he said, would entail 28 buildings totaling almost 60,000 square feet.

Camp Rainbow Gold wants to build 28 buildings on the property to provide a summer camp for children with cancer and their families. The buildings would include cabins, a dining hall, reflection center, medical facility, welcome center and nature center

Camp officials say they designed the camp with rustic rural board-and-batten siding to blend in with the surroundings.

While the camp has received opposition from some East Fork members, other Blaine County members have expressed their support on Facebook and through other means.

“This has been quite a process for us. Throughout it all, our supporters shave remained incredibly devoted,” said Camp Rainbow Gold Executive Director Elizabeth Lizberg. “They have submitted hundreds of letters, spoken at the three public hearings and joined us at our sold-out annual fundraiser. We are so grateful for the unwavering support and encouragement of the Wood River Valley and people throughout the entire state of Idaho.”

Camp Rainbow Gold officials have been seeking to build a new camp for more than a decade, as the current facility they lease at Cathedral Pines does not provide the best setting for children requiring daily medical care. Among other things, the rustic cabins do not have bathrooms, meaning children receiving treatment for cancer have to make their way across the campground in the middle of the night to use Porta-potties.

“A permanent facility would also offer an opportunity to develop new programs, expand existing programs, reach more families and design better medical facilities,” said Whitney Slade.

Lizberg said she and others have spent the past two years reviewing nearly 50 property listings up and down the valley, walking on nearly two dozen of the properties. But all had something that negated their feasibility.

The 260-acre property past the town of Triumph had all the attributes that were needed, including access to St. Luke’s Wood River Medical Center, she said. In addition, property owners Rich and Nancy Robbins, who helped start the first Share Your Heart Ball fundraiser for the camp, offered to donate half of the property that the Camp Rainbow Gold hopes to build on.

Robbins also issued a $1.75 million challenge grant to launch the camp’s fundraising campaign.

The camp founded 30 years ago, serves more than 300 families—most from southern Idaho. It has been utilized by families in the Wood River Valley, as well.