Locals say new event venue is changing the “country life”

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The Butikofer family has lived in the Coltman community since 1917, raising generation after generation on what they like to call the "country life."

“One thing people don’t realize about the country—it has a certain quietness about it," said Phyllis Butikofer, who has lived in the community for the last 60 years. 

But after her husband passed away, she had to sell much of her acreage. Her land split into thirds: her son, Thane Butikofer, bought his family’s home, another family moved two plots away and a business owner from Utah, Shawn Russell, bought the plot next door. 

Phyllis said she thought Russell planned to build a horse barn, but soon found out it was an event venue—Aspen Ridge. Phyllis, her son and her Coltman neighbors say it is changing the character of the community peace. 

Thane Butikofer sent Local News 8 videos of events held at Aspen Ridge. One shows close to a hundred people partying with loud music and neon lights. The video he sent is timestamped at 10:03 p.m. 

Shawn Russell says these events happen twice a month, and that the noise isn’t loud. He also says that he has received compliments from people in the area, telling him that the area needed a venue like this. The Coltman community disagrees. 

The community is an A-1 agricultural zone. According to the Bonneville County 2024 Zoning Ordinance, it is a zone “characterized by land used for farms, ranches and open range in the production of crops and livestock.” 

However, this does not mean an event venue can’t move into an A-1 zone, it just means a venue may be approved if it follows certain standards. One standard includes a potential need for noise and light buffers depending on their impact on the community. 

"I can feel the ground actually vibrate. That's how loud it is," said Phyllis Butikofer about the noise coming from events at Aspen Ridge. 

Farmland is decreasing nationwide. The USDA Census of Agriculture reports a 7% decline in farms nationwide from 2017 to 2022. Russell reflected on his own upbringing in Utah, where he said he spent much of his life on a farm. 

“So, times change. I mean, unfortunately. I hate to see that, but it happens,” said Russell. “People start building around. You can’t control that. I mean, it’s, it’s just time.” 

But for the Butikofer family, this isn’t just about preserving the rules and regulations of their zone. 

“We have this sweet little bubble right here. And this place is our home and it's our heart. And it's our grandparents' and it's our great-grandparents’,” said Michelle Meyer, Phyllis Butikofers daughter. “And we want to preserve that life for our kids and our grandkids.”

They say it’s about preserving the right to live their way of life.

“I guess it is kind of a little bubble I live in. But I have that right. And I should be able to have that right," said Phyllis Butikofer.