City invites public to Oct. 6 open house on downtown zone changes

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Sandpoint staff and officials from the Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation Commission; Planning and Zoning Commission; and City Council have been invited to attend a Tuesday, Oct. 6 for a workshop on downtown commercial zone change updates.

Members of the public are also encouraged to participate in the event, which runs from 12:30-5 p.m. in the Sandpoint Community Hall (204 S. First Ave.).

The Oct. 6 gathering follows a workshop hosted by the city on Sept. 15 that brought together planners, ACHP and P&Z commissioners with downtown business owners and interested citizens to hear about ongoing updates to the zoning code pertaining to the historic downtown core.

Central to the code changes are new policies and regulations intended to encourage a “true mixed-use core” that includes more residential use while directing commercial development in such a way as to preserve the historic look and feel of the historic area.

“What City Council has said is, ‘Look, we’re afraid that we’re going to experience change as a community, and some of that change might not fit with the things we’ve collectively agreed on are special about this place. We’d like to have some better tools in the toolbox to preserve it,’” City Planner Bill Dean said at the Sept. 15 workshop. “Well, that’s where zoning comes into play.” 

Among the proposed changes are a cap of 40 feet for buildings within the downtown historic district overlay and strengthened rules about exterior modifications, including awnings, windows and other features so that they blend with the existing streetscape.

“[P]art of what these rules establish are a baseline standard … so that our grandkids and our great-grandkids can expect to see the same type of environment that you see today,” Dean said on Sept. 15. “It doesn’t mean you can’t do exterior modifications — it just means that you go through a review process.”

Attendees at the Oct. 6 open house are welcome to review planning materials, ask questions and provide feedback on the code change proposals, which have been worked on by City Hall for the past 14 months.

P&Z commissioners are likely to consider a completed draft of the changes at a 5:30 p.m. public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 20 in City Hall Council Chambers (1123 Lake St.). Following that, commissioners will make a recommendation to the council with a final decision made sometime in December.