By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff
An interim Idaho legislative committee looking at land use and housing will meet in Sandpoint on Thursday, Aug. 14 from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall (1123 Lake St.).
Established by the 2025 Legislature with bipartisan support, the interim committee was modeled on a similar working group in Montana that presented recommendations on how to reduce barriers to creating more housing — including affordable housing.
Co-chaired by Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, the committee’s agenda in Sandpoint includes presentations by Kaniksu Land Trust Executive Director Katie Egland Cox and Maggie Lyons, who serves as executive director of the Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance.
Representatives from the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association will also present, as well as Coeur d’Alene Councilor Kiki Miller, who also founded the Housing Solutions Partnership.
The government relations manager for Dominium Apartments, former chair of the Montana Housing Task Force and a representative of the Coeur d’Alene Vacation Rental Alliance will finish the presentation portion of the event, which will conclude with a committee discussion reviewing ideas and proposals.
In addition to Woodward and Redman, a number of other legislators, planners, state agency representatives, real estate experts and land use professionals serve on the committee — including Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm.
The committee is scheduled to hold one more meeting on Sept. 26 in Boise.
Woodward told the Reader that the ultimate goal of the committee’s work will be to publish a “best practices” document with ideas that may find their way into legislative proposals in the 2026 session, but, “I am an advocate of local decision-making. I will be slow to write one-size-fits-all state law if we can keep the decisions in our communities.”
Members of the public are welcome to attend in person, or online at idahoptv.org/shows/idahoinsession/ww55.
