Sandpoint council schedules July public hearing on updated development impact fee study

City planning staff and consultants delivered an updated development impact fee study on June 25 that would raise the city’s maximum supportable impact fees and change the way some fees are calculated.

Jason Welker, Sandpoint community planning and development director, opened the presentation and introduced consultants from Tishler Bise, who said the study updates cost factors and service levels used to set maximum allowable fees. “For example, an all-encompassing fee including the five different infrastructure categories, an average single-family home in Sandpoint could be assessed a maximum supportable fee of $11,246,” consultant Nicholas Huff told the council. Consultants said the study replaces a bedroom-based residential fee with a square-footage approach and adds nonresidential and lodging categories for parks and recreation fees.

The study breaks the fee schedule into categories (parks and recreation, pathways, roads, police and fire), shows the capital improvement plans used to justify fee amounts, and computes a growth-related share for each category. Huff summarized the park fees: “Based on the currently provided levels of service, for parks and recreation, an average single family home in Sandpoint could be assessed a maximum supportable fee of $5,074,” he said. For roads, the consultants used a plan-based methodology and estimated a maximum residential fee of about $4,248 per single-family home. Consultants emphasized that council may adopt fees at or below the calculated maxima and that the Idaho state impact fee code allows affordable-housing exemptions.

Council members pressed staff and consultants on timing, phasing, and affordable-housing exemptions. Welker told the council that staff intends to incorporate the fees into the FY2026 budget and that a public hearing could not be noticed for July 9 given the meeting delay; the council instead voted to schedule a special public hearing for July 16. Councilors discussed a phased approach (for example 75% year 1, 90% year 2, 100% year 3) and asked staff to return with estimates of fund balances, likely annual collections, and the impact to the FY2026 budget.

Action: Council voted to schedule a public hearing on the development impact fee study and ordinance for July 16, 2025.

What’s next: Staff will incorporate council input, produce the draft ordinance and fee schedule, and present the public hearing materials for adoption consideration on July 16. The ordinance (if adopted) would be integrated with the FY2026 fee schedule and budget.