Paid parking program goes into effect July 1

City Hall increases number of permits available to each household

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

As Sandpoint prepares to see the new paid downtown parking program go into full effect on Wednesday, July 1, City Hall has rolled out a few additional changes based on the first two weeks of permit sales.

Permits and more information are available now at sandpoint.thepermitportal.com. In a June 23 social media post, officials stated the following adjustments to the policy:

• The number of vehicle parking permits available for each household has been increased from three to four;

• A boat trailer permit does not count toward the vehicle permit number a household may purchase. A household may now purchase up to four vehicle permits and additional boat trailer permits;

• Those with a blue handicap parking placard in their vehicle can park at any time in any legal parking space in any city lot or on-street, for any length of time. No parking permit is required for vehicles with handicap placards.

“As a reminder, the two resident permits available are for city of Sandpoint and Bonner County residents,” City Hall stated. “There have been many questions from residents of other counties and even other states about parking permits. The only parking permit available to non-locals (i.e. out of county residents) is the 24-hour downtown parking permit, which does not come with a residency requirement and provides the most access to parking in downtown Sandpoint and the waterfront lots.”

Street parking in the two-hour downtown zones will remain free up to the posted time limit, though parking longer than that will require payment of an hourly fee.

Parking will also remain free up to the three- and four-hour limits in those respective zones. However, users who wish to use 24-hour parking in downtown lots as well as the three- and four-hour street parking zones — plus up to eight hours in the waterfront lots — can pay $40 per month. 

No permits are valid in the two-hour zone to encourage turnover and availability of parking spaces in front of the businesses that depend on parking availability for customers.

“This program helps ensure that the people who benefit from our parking lots, waterfront facilities, boat launches and beaches contribute to their upkeep while keeping access affordable for local residents,” stated Mayor Jeremy Grimm in a news release in early June.

The city of Sandpoint instituted the paid parking program after more than a year of planning and deliberation, ultimately agreeing that annual permits would cost $20 for city of Sandpoint residents and $35 for Bonner County residents. Holders of resident passes will receive up to eight hours of free parking per day in participating city-owned lots, which include the Third Avenue and Church Street lots (the latter also known as “The City Lot”), Bridge Street lot, City Beach, Dock Street Marina lot and Pend Oreille Bay Trail lot.

Hourly fees will be assessed for motorists parked without a valid permit beginning July 1.

Meanwhile, seasonal boat launch permits will also be required for unlimited use of the City Beach and War Memorial Field boat launches. Those permits cost $50 per year for vessels registered in Idaho and $100 per year for those registered out-of-state.

Users without boat launch permits may pay a $10 daily launch fee, which does not include the standard parking rate.

According to the city, downtown employees who are not city or county residents can purchase either a 24-hour downtown permit or use any of the free all-day street parking spaces downtown, which include 315 parking stalls located from Alder Street to the north, Fifth Avenue to the west and Lake Street to the south. 

Permits will remain on sale throughout the year and are valid for the entire calendar year in which they are purchased. A new permit is required in the new calendar year. 

City Hall staff members are available to assist residents with permit purchases. For assistance, visit 1123 Lake St. For other questions, email [email protected].