Sandpoint commission defers proposal to allow sidewalk in-lieu fees for short plats to pedestrian committee

Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Moe Dunkel and staff heard a public hearing on amendments to Sandpoint City Code section 7-3-10-h on June 17, when City Engineer Brandon Stagland described a draft change to allow short plats and lot-line adjustments to pay a sidewalk in-lieu fee instead of constructing frontage sidewalk.

Stagland told commissioners that the change would allow short plats and lot-line adjustments to use the existing sidewalk in-lieu program but would not change the rule for full subdivisions under Title 10, Chapter 1. "What this code amendment is is a change to chapter 7-3-10-h in regard to using the sidewalk in lieu fee program for short plats and lot line adjustments," he said.

The proposal prompted public comment and commissioner questions about whether the change would weaken sidewalk continuity and how the city enforces sidewalk construction. Molly O'Reilly, a Sandpoint resident, told the commission that the short-plat sidewalk requirement is "one of the two most significant ordinances we have in this city that has expanded, repaired, and connected sidewalks." She said the city would not have a continuous sidewalk between Olive and Division on Ontario without the short-plat requirement and urged a careful review by the Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Stagland explained how enforcement currently works: a building permit requires sidewalk construction as a condition for a certificate of occupancy, and the in-lieu fee is normally collected before a permit is closed out. He also said the fee is intended to be spent within the same quarter section where the fee was collected and described the in-lieu amount currently in use for building permits as $60 per lineal foot (reduced from $140 two years earlier). He noted a known enforcement gap when property owners choose not to obtain a certificate of occupancy after construction, leaving the city little practical recourse to force completion of required frontage improvements.

Commissioners discussed how staff would decide to permit an in-lieu payment. Stagland said the public works director would have discretion and that staff typically look to whether paying the fee or building the sidewalk better connects to the existing network: "If building sidewalk adjacent to a lot will connect to the existing sidewalk network, then they build the sidewalk. If it won't connect to the existing sidewalk network, then we do it in-lieu." Commissioners pressed on enforcement, whether the fee follows the parcel if property changes hands, and whether the fee could be charged at permit issuance. Stagland said the fee would be recorded in the file tied to the parcel number and that the intent is for the in-lieu payment to run with the land even though that detail is not explicitly spelled out in existing code.

After discussion, Commissioner Grant Simmons moved to defer the proposal to the Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee for review relative to the comprehensive plan and pedestrian connectivity; Commissioner Reed Weber seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote (Dunkel yes; Benner no; Weber yes; Simmons yes; Mitchell yes; Torpy yes).

The commission did not vote on the ordinance language; instead it sent the item to the advisory committee for study and return recommendation to the commission.