Proposed downtown apartment development riles some residents over parking exemption

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

A proposed mixed-use development on Church Street would bring 48 one-bedroom and studio apartment units and 618 square feet of commercial space to downtown, but no required parking — which already has some neighbors and other observers concerned about potential congestion and increased competition for on-street parking spots.

Brought forward by OZ Sandpoint QOZB, LLC., based in Lindon, Utah, the 21,247-square-foot, 47-foot-tall four-story building at 413 Church St. would feature commercial fronting the street, with ground-floor apartments in the rear and above on the remaining floors.

Because the development — described in planning documents as “Farmin Flats” — is located in a zone that is exempt from parking requirements, residents will have to park their vehicles in available on-street or public parking stalls. The exemption dates back more than a decade, intended to remove a hurdle to downtown development and increase vitality.

“At the time [when the exemption came into effect], more than 35% of ground-floor spaces were vacant, and on-site parking requirements were a major obstacle for property owners seeking to change building uses or invest in downtown improvements,” Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm told the Reader, going on to highlight the Belwood Building at 301 Cedar St., 113 Main, Kochava, The Hive, McDuff’s and Joel’s as examples of “how eliminating the parking requirement supported downtown reinvestment and vibrancy.”

A rendering of the proposed Farmin Flats development on Church Street in downtown Sandpoint.
Courtesy of RAD Architectural Design.

In its narrative statement submitted to City Hall in early March, OZ Sandpoint wrote that, “By eliminating on-site parking, this project embraces a transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly approach that promotes environmental responsibility, affordability and efficient land use.”

According to a trip generation and distribution letter referenced in the narrative, the developer estimated “well below 50 peak hour trips” with existing public and on-street parking being sufficient to accommodate residents. Citing the city’s parking study, OZ Sandpoint went on to state that there are 1,052 general use parking stalls and 45 specialty use stalls in downtown, with on-street parking occupancy reaching a peak of 57% at noon during the week and 50% by 11 a.m. on weekends.

“The overall on-street parking occupancy is below the effective capacity of the parking supply during all hours of the day,” the developer wrote.

Because its approximate 5,100-square-foot building footprint is well below the 15,000-square-foot threshold that would trigger a conditional use permit, Farmin Flats does not require a hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council, and therefore will not undergo a public process unless its administrative approval is appealed.

However, the city had received more than a dozen written comments as of press time, all of them expressing opposition to the project and with the lack of parking as a central theme.

“Adding a significant number of residential tenants in the downtown core will significantly impact parking in the surrounding blocks of this development,” wrote one resident. “It is also likely that the tenants will often park in spaces that are not designated for their use and negatively impact the businesses surrounding this development.” 

Wrote another resident, “I am in total agreement with affordable housing and would love to see more apartments, etc., in the city. We are in desperate need, for sure. My problem is that you are looking at 48 tiny units with zero parking taken into account. This, to me, is absurd and near-sighted.”

Yet another comment from a resident who owns property across the alley from the proposed development on Pine Street expressed their concern that, “if there is no parking provided for this building … we will have to call the tow truck all the time to clear the Farmin Flats residents’ cars out of our parking lot daily, or be forced to put up a fence to deter them from parking there. …

“The entire lower level of this project should be a parking garage,” the commenter added. “Eliminate the commercial office up front also because there is no space for those customers to park either. The whole parking situation for this building is a fiasco.”

In an email to the Reader, Grimm noted that “it is reasonable to expect an increase in both on- and off-street parking demand. While concerns about congestion are understandable, our most recent parking inventory shows that even on the busiest summer days, hundreds of public, on-street spaces remain available.”

What’s more, he added, not requiring Farmin Flats to provide on-site parking serves a broader purpose beyond the “year-round, all-day activity” spurred by additional downtown residents. 

“Looking forward, the city will need to invest in expanding public parking capacity downtown, most likely through a multi-level parking structure,” Grimm wrote. “Such a facility will likely be funded by bonds, which in turn will require consistent revenue from paid parking to cover annual debt service. For that reason, some degree of parking ‘stress’ is actually necessary to encourage turnover and generate revenue.”

The city is currently crafting a new parking management plan — an updated draft of which will be presented before the Planning and Zoning Commission at its Tuesday, April 15 meeting — including paid parking at a number of city-owned parking facilities, as well as residential parking passes to be used throughout downtown.

“If, for example, 40 residents purchased monthly passes, the project could contribute approximately $1,600 per month to the city’s parking revenue fund,” Grimm wrote.

“Alternatively, developments that don’t include parking may see lower rents, as the lack of this amenity is typically reflected in market value — a common practice in other cities,” he later added. “And given the project’s proximity to employment, shopping and SPOT bus stops, it is possible that some future residents may not own a car at all.”

However, City Hall is also working on a code amendment as part of the parking management plan that would consider requiring residential developments located in the parking exempt zone to provide off-street parking or pay an in-lieu fee, with funds channeled to public parking improvements and expansion. 

Grimm told the Reader that the code amendment will also be discussed at the April 15 P&Z meeting, and he expects the proposal to go before the City Council in late May or early June.

Until then, he wrote, “the parking exempt zone was created to encourage redevelopment, housing and job creation downtown without forcing expansion of parking on valuable and limited commercial land. Residential development downtown supports businesses, activates public streets year-round and aligns with the city’s long-term goals for a vibrant, walkable urban core.”

Find the full application file and public comments on Farmin Flats at sandpointidaho.gov under “Current Projects” on the Planning and Community Development page.