Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Regulation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission recommends code changes to let short plats defer frontage improvements until building permit or pay in-lieu fee
Summary
The commission recommended council adopt city-initiated amendments allowing large lots created by short plats to defer frontage (curb/sidewalk) construction until building permit stage or to participate in the city's sidewalk in-lieu fee program, with staff control over when in-lieu payments are appropriate.
The Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission voted March 4 to recommend city council adopt amendments to two Sandpoint City Code sections that change when developers must construct frontage improvements for short plats.
City engineer Brandon Staglin explained the amendments are city-initiated and would allow owners creating large lots through a short plat to defer curb and sidewalk construction along public street frontages until the future building-permit stage, or alternatively to pay a sidewalk in-lieu fee under the same conditions the city already applies to building permits.
Staglin said a short plat (a subdivision of four or fewer standard lots or six or fewer townhouse lots that does not include a public right-of-way) currently requires frontage improvements before final plat or bonding to guarantee completion. The proposed change would let a short-plat applicant either post an agreement guaranteeing future construction at building permit or pay into the sidewalk-in-lieu fund; both approaches are intended to secure the public infrastructure while reducing delays in property transactions and avoiding building improvements that future development would later need to rework.
The commission asked technical questions about how the in-lieu program would be applied to larger lots and whether in-lieu payments could lead to a sidewalk not being built at a particular frontage if the city decides the funds are better applied elsewhere in the neighborhood. Staglin and staff responded that the change would allow short plats to participate under the same conditions already in the in-lieu code and that staff discretion remains in determining whether in-lieu payment or direct construction is most appropriate for the public benefit.
Dan Rucker, a local property owner who said he is reserving a one-acre parcel from a five-acre site, spoke in favor of the amendment and described a scenario where the flexibility avoids requiring the current owner to build sidewalks up front on a large parcel that is likely to be redeveloped later.
After public testimony the commission voted to recommend council adopt the amendments as drafted in the staff report. The changes will be forwarded to city council for final action. If council adopts them, future short-plat applicants and property owners will have an additional option for meeting frontage requirements: construct improvements prior to final plat, enter an agreement deferring construction until building permit, or pay an in-lieu fee subject to city discretion and program rules.
