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Sandpoint council hears passionate public comment and staff plan to bring ordinance aligning NDO with state and federal law
Summary
Public commenters and councilors debated Sandpoint's nondiscrimination ordinance after YMCA-related concerns. Mayor Jeremy Grama said he will present an ordinance next week to mirror federal and state civil-rights law and remove local enforcement provisions; council members expressed differing views on timing and liability.
Public comment at Sandpoint's Nov. 12 special council meeting was dominated by concerns about the city's nondiscrimination ordinance and YMCA policies, with speakers on both sides urging the council to consider safety, privacy and legal risk.
Heather Haggard, who identifies as a disabled veteran, told the council she feared losing women-only privacy in locker rooms and urged the preservation of single-sex spaces. "I am also a woman who has been sexually assaulted ... and I should be given the ability to consent to anybody that sees my body," she said. Andrea Marcaccio, reading for the Sandpoint Alliance for Equality, urged the council to uphold the existing nondiscrimination ordinance and warned that reversing it could put the YMCA and other businesses at legal and economic risk: "To reverse the existing NDO in Sandpoint is not a technicality of jurisdiction. It is to knowingly, willingly put your citizens in harm's way," Marcaccio said.
Mayor Jeremy Grama opened the council discussion by saying recent events have produced a legal and cultural debate that "exceeds far beyond our municipal authority," and announced his intent to bring an ordinance at next week's meeting that would mirror established federal civil-rights law and state law and remove local provisions he said could expose the city to costly litigation. "In my opinion, the city has no legal power to enforce or regulate these issues," the mayor said.
Council members debated whether to amend the city code now or wait for guidance from the state legislature. Councilman Kyle Schreiber cautioned against moving too hastily and suggested waiting for direction from state lawmakers; other council members said they wanted to ensure protections for women, children and vulnerable people and asked staff and legal counsel to review liability and facility protocols. City legal counsel (first name recorded as Zach) said an ordinance that mirrors state and federal definitions would be deferential and unlikely to create significant additional liability.
Council members did not adopt any code changes Nov. 12; the mayor said he would return with proposed ordinance language next week and staff would continue discussions with the YMCA and the school district about safety protocols.
Next steps: the council will consider proposed ordinance language at its next regular meeting; staff and legal counsel will provide details on liabilities, enforcement pathways and facility-level safety protocols in the meantime.
