Sandpoint advisory committee recommends updated development impact fee study to city council

SANDPOINT, Idaho — On June 10, 2025, the Sandpoint Development Impact Fee Advisory Committee voted to recommend that City Council accept an updated Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and a development impact fee study prepared by Tischler Bise, with a staff correction to park acreage before the study is forwarded to council.

The committee’s recommendation follows a presentation by city staff and Tischler Bise consultants that updated the city’s impact fee calculations for parks and recreation, pathways, roads, police and fire. The draft ties future fees to projected population and job growth and to the city’s 10-year growth-related capital needs.

Nick, a Tischler Bise consultant, summarized the legal and technical basis for the fees, saying, “They are not a tax. They’re more similar to a contractual arrangement to build that infrastructure with the fee revenue.” The study applies the standard “rational nexus” tests: (1) growth-related need, (2) benefit to new development, and (3) proportionate share.

The consultants used building permit trends since the 2020 census, vacancy and persons-per-household figures, hotel-room inventory and Institute of Transportation Engineers trip factors to model a 10-year growth scenario. Key draft findings presented to the committee include: a projected increase of about 3,372 new residents and roughly 1,314 new housing units over 10 years; a peak base-year population of about 11,413 (including seasonal and overnight visitors); and a projected increase of about 6,990 daily vehicle trips.

Draft fee levels shown in the presentation include approximate assessments per typical single-family home of: pathways about $1,200, roads about $4,248, parks roughly $4,500, police $249 and fire $494, for a combined draft total of about $10,777 per single-family home. The consultants estimated 10-year fee revenue by category (rounded): parks projected revenue about $6.8 million against a growth-related need of about $7.3 million; pathways $1.4 million revenue with roughly $1.5 million need; roads $5.0 million growth-related share of a $25.7 million roads CIP; police revenue about $482,000 versus $582,000 need; and fire revenue about $962,000 versus just over $1 million need. The study shows modest funding gaps in several categories after applying credits for the existing impact fee fund balance.

The parks acreage inventory used in the draft was questioned by committee members. Commissioner Scott Torpey and others pointed out that the presentation omitted acreage for parts of the city’s sports complex (Traverse, Centennial and Great Northern parks), which adds about 10 acres. Committee member Wayne Benner moved to approve the study recommendation with the parks-acreage correction; the motion passed on a roll call vote with five ayes and one abstention. The committee’s motion directed staff to correct the parks inventory and forward the draft to Planning Commission and City Council for review and adoption.

Committee discussion covered several policy and implementation points: how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and short-term rentals will be classified (consultants said ADUs will be treated as multifamily and assessed under the draft square-footage schedule); whether transit can be funded with impact fees (consultants noted Idaho code does not explicitly list transit in the state impact-fee enabling language, making transit inclusion more complicated); and the timing and prioritization of projects funded partly by impact fees and partly by grants or other sources. Jason Welker, Community Planning and Development Director, and city staff clarified that fees are invoiced at building-permit issuance, and that prior practice has been to charge the fee in effect on the date a complete building permit application is submitted.

Several committee members raised fiscal concerns about inflation and the time lag between collection and expenditure. Committee members and staff noted that Sandpoint’s ordinance includes an annual inflationary adjustment to the fee schedule and that fund-investment options are limited by Idaho law; as a result, construction-cost escalation can outpace the modest interest earned in permitted investments.

The consultants and staff emphasized the study is a draft maximum-supportable fee schedule; the City Council may adopt lower fees, and the committee’s recommendation is advisory. Next steps are a text amendment to incorporate the CIP into the comp plan, Planning Commission review, and City Council consideration.

Votes at a glance: the committee voted to recommend the updated CIP and development impact fee study to City Council with an instruction to correct park acreage. The motion was moved by Commissioner Wayne Benner and passed on a roll-call vote (5 ayes, 0 no, 1 abstain). The recommendation does not itself change fees; Council action is required for adoption.