Council rules University Place PUD expired; motion to grant extension fails

The Sandpoint City Council on June 4 voted that the University Place planned unit development (PUD) approval from 2022 had expired under city code and rejected a motion to grant an extension.

Developer Derek Mulgrew told council he had installed public infrastructure for several phases and argued the infrastructure work met the code’s “construction begun” requirement. Mulgrew said work included water and sewer piping, roadway widening, curb and gutter, utilities and other horizontal infrastructure; he asked the council to extend the PUD to allow final platting and building permits to proceed.

Councilors debated the meaning of Sandpoint City Code 10‑3‑10‑M, which states that if no construction has begun within two years and no building permit exists the final development plan becomes void, but allows an extension or phasing modification if the council finds it is not in conflict with the public interest. Several council members said the code language reads as a hard expiration; others were sympathetic to the developer’s chronology and to staff turnover that complicated processing.

A motion by Councilor Digg to extend the University Place PUD for eight months failed for lack of a clear majority. A subsequent motion—framed as an interpretation of city code—passed by roll call: the council determined the PUD had expired under SCC 10‑3‑10‑M and that an application for an extension cannot be filed after expiration.

City staff told council that a final plat and building permits had not been approved before the two‑year clock ran, and that staff are preparing code clarifications to avoid similar disputes in the future. The developer said he had applied for building permits after learning of the expiration and asked for time to complete the development agreement and final plat; staff said processing timelines and public‑hearing requirements would be required to return the matter to council if an applicant proceeded under a new submittal.

No immediate permit or development agreement was approved at the meeting; the council’s ruling is an interpretation of the city code and not an approval of a new or amended PUD.