Sandpoint begins soft launch of paid parking and permit system; staff sold roughly 2,125 permits in early rollout

Sandpoint’s new parking system went into soft launch July 1 as the city began running kiosks on its busiest downtown blocks and at City Beach. Mayor Jeremy Grim and Community & Planning Development Director Jason Welker said the launch is intended to improve turnover in two‑hour zones, give residents an all‑day permit option and create a predictable enforcement mechanism.

Mayor Jeremy Grim said the rollout will be forgiving during the early weeks: “As the public learns how to interact with those devices, and we address any glitches in the software, we will be anticipating full implementation and enforcement in a couple weeks.” He said police will exercise leniency during the soft-launch period while kiosks and permit processes stabilize.

How it works: the system uses kiosks to record a license-plate check-in per block (not space-by-space) and gives vehicle owners the option to buy more time when needed. Staff emphasized that residents with verified permits will not have to check in at kiosks for city lots; the permit is tied to a license plate. Director Welker said, “Your permit is your license plate. The stickers streamline enforcement but are not required for use once the license-plate registration is active.”

Fees and verification: resident permit registration is $20 per vehicle; households may register multiple vehicles (staff described up to four per household in the registration portal). Stickers are mailed as a convenience; printing/handling/postage was estimated at roughly $6 per sticker. Staff said permit review includes a manual verification step to confirm residency before payment is completed.

Enforcement and customer support: enforcement will operate primarily during daytime hours (generally until 5 p.m.) and the kiosks send alerts to users who check in via the app when time is about to expire. Staff have offered on‑the‑counter assistance at City Hall for residents who need help uploading documents; the city reported major front‑counter use in the weeks before July 1. As of the meeting, staff reported selling approximately 2,125 permits in the first weeks of the program.

Why it matters: the new system is intended to improve parking availability for downtown businesses by making two‑hour limits enforceable and giving residents and visitors predictable options for extended stays. The city emphasized it is not expanding paid street parking to most downtown street spaces, but is adding check-in kiosks on the busiest blocks and at some lots to manage turnover.