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Sandpoint mayor outlines slow rollout for citywide parking policy as resident questions developer in-lieu fee
Summary
Mayor Jeremy Grimm said the city is drafting a parking policy that will go through commissions before returning to council, with no implementation expected before summer 2026. A resident asked for public accounting of an in-lieu parking fee paid by the proposed Resort at 56 Bridal Street.
Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said the city is developing a citywide parking policy that will be vetted by commissions and committees and include public input before coming back to the City Council for action. Grimm told the council the city is moving “deliberately and slowly,” and does not expect a policy to be implemented before the summer of 2026.
Why it matters: parking has been a recurring issue in Sandpoint’s recent meetings and public comment; Grimm said the policy will set procedure and enforcement steps once adopted, and that factual information will be posted on the city website.
Grimm said staff have been instructed not to engage in official city business on social media and encouraged residents to use the city website for authoritative notices and agenda subscriptions. He also highlighted a newly tuned notification system that allows users to subscribe by topic for email notices, and said staff will later publish a draft parking management plan for public review.
Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker said the draft parking management plan has been revised following feedback and is posted with recent Planning & Zoning materials. He said the parks commission will devote a 90-minute meeting to the plan and the Ped-Bike Committee will also review it; Welker said he will likely push a public survey with the mayor to gather more input.
Public commenter Jennifer (Jen) Cox of Clark Fork asked the council to explain decisions made under the city’s in-lieu parking fee code for the proposed Resort at 56 Bridal Street. Cox asked why the city accepted a reduced parking supply for the project and requested a transparent accounting of the in-lieu fee, saying the developer paid $400,000 and that, by her reading of Title 9, the fee should have been larger. Mayor Grimm said he would respond in writing to Cox and the community.
No formal council action was taken on the parking policy at the meeting. The council previously approved an amended agenda to allow executive-session discussion on unrelated matters that were added less than 48 hours before the meeting.
Looking ahead: Welker said the planning team will continue outreach through commissions and surveys; Grimm said the policy will first go through the commissions and committees and then return to council for action, with implementation procedures and enforcement steps to follow once the policy is adopted.
