Sandpoint staff weigh buying 2.5 acres of former railroad right-of-way to extend Sandpoint–Dover trail

City staff asked the Sandpoint City Council on Jan. 15 to authorize an offer for about 2.53 acres of former Union Pacific railroad right-of-way as a long-term corridor for the Sandpoint–Dover shared-use path and neighborhood pocket parks.

Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker told the council the parcel would secure an essential connection between recent multifamily and senior housing projects north of U.S. 2 and existing city-owned property downtown. “This is the only opportunity we have to secure an essential right of way for long-envisioned multimodal connections between communities,” Welker said. He said the city’s appraisal came in higher than the negotiated figure the city staff is recommending, and that the staff had negotiated roughly $80,000 below appraisal.

The purchase would be funded from the city’s parks development impact fee fund, Welker said. He told council the fund balance has been used previously for park improvements that serve growth, and that about $300,000 was included in the current budget as a placeholder for land acquisition; the actual fund balance is larger. He also flagged a possible complementary funding role for the city’s northern urban renewal district, which previously had earmarked about $6 million for a railroad crossing project that did not receive a federal grant.

Why it matters: The parcel sits adjacent to or near several new multifamily developments — including a 76‑unit project north of Super 1 and a 135‑unit project west of the fairgrounds — and existing low‑income and senior housing. Securing the right-of-way would allow a continuous nonmotorized corridor linking northern neighborhoods to downtown without requiring future, costly land take from private owners if the parcel is redeveloped.

Council discussion and next steps

Council members broadly supported moving forward with due diligence but asked staff to return with formal terms and additional details. Council President Deb Ruhl and several councilors urged that the city act to avoid losing the parcel to private development, while others raised questions about access, adjacent abandoned rail beds and the cost.

Councilor Rick Howarth and Council President Ruhl asked staff to confirm whether existing easements would provide access across neighboring parcels and whether the purchase could include easements or seller commitments to ensure connectivity. Councilor Justin Schreiber and Councilor Trevor Spiro urged using the site for decentralized parks closer to the new housing. Welker said staff would bring a formal ratification request back to council with any proposed easements and recommended purchase terms.

Public context and constraints

Welker said parts of the corridor north of the parcel are already owned by the nonprofit Friends of the Pend Oreille Bay Trail and that Union Pacific had given the city first rights to buy. He noted the railroad typically removes rails and ties at the time of sale, which could make a first-phase gravel or natural-surface trail cheaper to build.

Welker also noted legal limits on how the city could require adjacent private owners to return or dedicate right-of-way later: “We have no legal means to exact right of way that’s not adjacent to existing right of way that we already own,” he said, adding that conditioned redevelopment could require frontage improvements but not force dedication of off‑frontage land.

Staff indicated the purchase would be phased with future planning, grant writing and public engagement led by parks staff and the parks commission. Welker said the city would likely pursue planning and rails‑to‑trails conservancy grants to fund design once the parcel is secured.

Ending

Council asked staff to return with a formal purchase authorization for a future meeting, including a draft offer, easement language (if available), an updated budget/impact-fee accounting and options for urban renewal participation. No final purchase vote was taken on Jan. 15.