Sustainability committee agrees to use comp‑plan review to build checklist; staff to post updated matrix

The Sandpoint Sustainability Committee agreed Tuesday to move forward with developing a sustainability checklist derived from the committee’s review of the city’s comprehensive plan and to prioritize which themes to review at upcoming meetings.

Committee members described the spreadsheet matrix as the primary working document. The group agreed members will review the consolidated questions in advance and the committee will proceed theme by theme — for example, forestry or waste management — to convert relevant items into checklist questions that staff and decision-makers could apply to new proposals.

Katrina Piali summarized the group’s intent: combining individual members’ review work into a single repository so the committee can decide which items to keep, collapse or discard. Committee members said they do not want work to stall and that the matrix should feed both a short screening checklist staff could use and, if warranted later, a broader sustainability plan.

Committee members noted the existing spreadsheet currently contains 95 items compiled from members’ reviews, and that chapters 6, 7, 9 and 10 of the comp plan were missing or submitted late and will be added to the matrix. Members directed staff to post an updated version of the matrix to the repository, and they agreed to review categories alphabetically at subsequent meetings to ensure steady progress.

Why it matters: Committee members framed the checklist as a practical tool staff could use to screen projects and proposals for consistency with the city’s sustainability goals. Members also saw the matrix as a foundation for a fuller sustainability plan, if the committee later chooses to develop one.

No formal vote took place on policy content during this discussion; the committee set a work plan and asked staff to upload the updated consolidated questions document so members could review themes in advance of the next meeting.