Sandpoint P&Z discusses downtown code changes

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Sandpoint Planning and Zoning commissioners met March 3 to further discuss proposed zoning changes in the downtown area — part of an ongoing project touching on land uses, building heights and historic preservation.

Deputy Director of Planning and Community Development Bill Dean framed the discussion by describing downtown as “the city’s living room. We want to increase its emphasis and be top of mind for how we can drive investment.” Specifically, he summarized the thrust of the proposed changes as encouraging “walk, shop, eat” development.

Following several previous discussions both at P&Z and the City Council, Dean presented a slate of new concepts for consideration, which included past input from city officials.

Broadly, the zone changes would create an “inner” downtown core and “outer core,” with a historic overlay in the inner core. One of the most controversial aspects of the draft plan was the inclusion of restrictions on office spaces on the ground floor of the inner core — specifically related to real estate offices. After receiving copious feedback, both for and against the restriction, the revised plan removes that prohibition in both inner and outer core zones.

While no one land use “is going to make or break downtown,” Dean said, a lot of offices can be “dead spaces.” The idea of restricting them from the ground floor in the inner core was intended to encourage “activity generating” uses. 

“The previous draft code prohibited offices on the ground floor in inner core. Tuesday’s [revised draft] allowed offices on ground floors everywhere,” Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker told the Reader in a text clarifying a previous error in reporting.

Meanwhile, current code restricts residential from the ground floors throughout downtown, but the revised proposal allows that use in the outer core.

Overall, Dean described the zoning changes as a “liberalization of land use regulation.” 

The other high-profile discussion point in the proposed changes relates to height restrictions. Current code allows for buildings up to 65 feet tall, though as Dean pointed out, in the 20 or so years since that ordinance passed few if any new developments have gone that high in the immediate downtown area and none in the inner core. 

The proposed changes would lower that limit to 35 feet in the inner core and allow up to 45 feet in the outer core with an approved conditional use permit.

Dean noted that most of the current structures downtown don’t even reach the 35-foot level — the Panida Theater, for instance, is 28 feet tall — and the Church Street apartments are representative of a 45-foot-tall building.

Based on those apartments and the nearby Bernklau Cafe, the latter which is about 35 feet tall, Commissioner Reid Weber suggested allowing buildings up to 45 feet in the outer core without the need for a CUP, since that height range “fits the context of the area.” 

Commission Vice Chair Wayne Benner said that while redevelopment in the inner downtown core is “going to be a wall” regardless, he argued that sticking with 35 feet would be more consistent with the current streetscape.

“This is a good step in that direction,” he said.

Going even further, Commission Chair Mose Dunkel suggested setting the heights in the inner core at 30 feet.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the downtown looks really good right now, and I think if it looked like that in 50 years, I think that’d be a success,” he said.

Commissioners also discussed the overall size of the proposed downtown zones, with Benner repeatedly arguing that the inner core as represented in the new draft plan is too big, saying it should be the size of a “small mall,” measuring a block or two long and the same distance wide.

However, Welker reminded the commissioners that the city is also gearing up for Phase 3 of downtown revitalization, which is intended to position the core and surrounding areas for expected population growth to upward of 16,000 residents by 2040. Following that, Welker said the land uses established between now and then will extend for 50 to 75 years.

“We’re planning now for the end of the 21st century,” he said.

The proposed zoning changes are far from approved, however, with a review of Commercial A changes and design standards scheduled for the Tuesday, March 17 P&Z meeting, followed by historic preservation code review in April, more commercial zoning design review in May, a public hearing in June, and the goal of bringing a final draft to the council sometime between July and August.

“We’re not in a hurry — we want to get this right,” Dean said.

CORRECTION: This article has been amended throughout to clarify that while the previous draft zoning code changes proposed prohibiting offices on the ground floor in the inner downtown core, the updated changes presented March 3 removed that prohibition to allow ground-floor offices throughout both the inner and outer downtown cores. We regret and apologize for the error.