Sandpoint council votes to proceed with City Beach RV park improvements

Unanimous vote sidelines Averill Hospitality’s proposal to redirect use at the property

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

The regular Feb. 4 meeting of the Sandpoint City Council featured a packed agenda and a full crowd, with robust public testimony given surrounding the future of the City Beach RV park, which the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended be renovated with an already-secured $950,000 grant from the Idaho State Department of Parks and Recreation.

Councilors voted unanimously — with almost no discussion — to proceed with the Parks and Rec. Commission’s recommendation, stymying a proposal fronted by Whitefish, Mont.-based developer Averill Hospitality to contribute $950,000 for design and construction of an alternative use for the RV park property, plus $50,000 a year to partially offset lost revenue to the city. 

Sandpoint officials have for months been considering whether to apply the state grant — plus $50,000 from the Parks Capital Improvement Fund — to improve the existing RV park, though that option ran afoul of Averill, which is planning to construct a luxury resort hotel across Bridge Street to the north.

According to a building permit application submitted Dec. 29, the five-story, approximately 226,000-square-foot hotel’s construction is valued at $57 million. Developers have pressed for some other use for the almost two-acre, publicly owned RV park property, claiming that it would detract from the guest experience if operated as-is in the future.

Though a survey of about 900 area residents overwhelmingly favored using the state grant and city dollars to improve the existing RV park — and the Parks and Rec. Commission voted 7-1 (with one abstention) at its Jan. 14 meeting to recommend doing so — Averill subsequently came forward with a new funding proposal, which was roundly rejected by members of the public who testified at the Feb. 4 council meeting.

“Blackmail didn’t work at previous meetings, and it won’t work again here,” said Sandpoint resident Julie Perchynski. 

Fellow resident Nancy Hastings urged the council to “stand up to Averill’s constant land grabs,” while resident Jayce Bordenave described Averill’s funding proposal as “financial nonsense.”

“Quite frankly, the people of Sandpoint are pissed,” he said. “Crap or get off the pot; build your hotel or not.” 

In exchange for the financial contributions to the site redevelopment, Averill proposed it be granted a 30-year, rent-free lease for 20 boat slips south of the RV park, along with use of five slips at the Windbag Marina that were leased from the city by the previous owners of the hotel property from 2007-’17. The staff report added, in part, “The Averills have indicated that access to boat slips is a critical factor in the feasibility of their proposed hotel redevelopment … .” Finally, Averill wanted free use of the redeveloped community space, provided it scheduled that use in advance. 

Continued public access to the boat slips proved to be a critical sticking point for many who testified at the Feb. 4 meeting, including Dakota Blaese, who serves as rear commodore for the Sandpoint Sailing Association.

Speaking on behalf of the SSA, he said the board had already been approached by Averill representatives about the five Windbag slips (which the nonprofit organization also uses) and voted to “categorically reject the acquisition of the slips — a stance the SSA still maintains to this day.”

Other residents who testified questioned why Averill continued to be allowed a negotiating position with the city, as the company bought the former Best Western Edgewater Resort property knowing of its features and limitations.

“Who is still giving Averill a seat at the table?” asked resident Erin Riseborough.

Taylor Long, who serves as vice commodore of the SSA and chair of the Parks and Rec. Commission, said that while he was speaking as a private citizen, he found it “interesting” that Averill chose to include the Windbag slips in its funding proposal — considering the lease agreement with the former Edgewater owners and the city for use of those slips expired in 2017.

“I think this is all a bunch of smoke and mirrors and that’s the ultimate goal,” he said, suggesting that Averill’s intention is to provide preferential access to the marina for its future hotel guests and condo owners.

According to the staff report, Averill indicated that if “an agreement could be reached with the city addressing these issues, they would intend to proceed with payment of outstanding permit fees, demolition and construction, with a target opening in early summer 2028.”

Though the company has filed a building permit application, it has yet to pay $210,000 in related fees, though has 180 days from submission to do so. Meanwhile, as part of the updated funding proposal, Averill asked the city to consider how a previously agreed-to $400,000 parking in lieu payment would be applied, since that payment was originally intended to improve parking at the RV park.

Despite what some critics have suggested in widely shared social media posts, Welker told the Reader in an email that Averill’s proposal “does not include rescinding the parking in lieu fees — $400,000 would still be invoiced with other fees at time of issuance of building permits.”

“They are as tone deaf and arrogant with these requests, these demands, as they’ve ever been,” said resident Paul Vogel.

Of the residents who testified, only former-City Councilor and restaurateur Justin Dick and local realtor Paul Reizen testified in any way other than outright opposition.

Dick, who previously owned and operated Trinity at City Beach, which was located at the Edgewater, said the community has viewed the RV park issue as “a very binary choice,” and offered a third option: to convert the RV park into expanded parking and increased public access to Sand Creek.

Using the $400,000 parking in lieu payment from Averill, “we could do that today,” Dick said. 

“A parking lot can still be a gathering space down there,” he added, describing the inclusion of picnic tables and shade structures. 

For his part, Reizen said he was “scared about our future,” owing to a string of weak winter seasons and their effect on local small businesses. “How are we going to survive in downtown Sandpoint without something like this resort?” he said. “We have to make this resort happen in some way.”

Following public comment, Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm prompted loud disapproval from both councilors and the public when he invited Brian Averill and the company’s local representative Ben McGrann to provide a presentation on their proposal — despite it not being included on the agenda. 

At the advice of City Attorney Fonda Jovick, Grimm reopened general public comment to give Averill the opportunity to speak within the allotted two-and-a-half-minute limit.

“I think our goal is honestly to be a good steward in the community, and I wanted to try to demonstrate that,” Averill said.

Addressing councilors, longtime resident Duane Ward said, “You represent the residents of this city, of this area — this property belongs to them and it is your responsibility to not take it from them, not sell it, not lease it, not make any deals with it because it is their property. …

“To me, this is more of a moral issue than it is of money,” he added. “I don’t blame Averill Hospitality — they’re business people, they want to make money … but not at the expense of the residents of this area.”