City may force businesses to add parking

SANDPOINT — A gray area in the city's parking regulations could force two local business owners to build additional parking spaces or pay in-lieu fees  that they feel are excessive.

City Planner Jeremy Grimm said The Loading Dock and Joel's, both popular downtown restaurants, have seating issues that straddle a line in the city's parking code.

The city's current code requires a certain number of parking spaces when a new business opens or an existing businesses makes significant alterations. If adding parking is unfeasible, owners can pay the city an in-lieu fee of $10,000 per space.

The law exempts restaurants with outdoor or take-out dining, but Grimm said whether knowingly or unknowingly, The Loading Dock and Joel's have both pushed the boundaries of the rule.

A revised ordinance that would abolish the parking requirements is making its way through city government, but Grimm said without the new ordinance he will be forced to take action against businesses that he feels are breaking the law.

"This is an ordinance — city code — and when I become aware a violation of city code it's my responsibility to enforce the code that's on the book," Grimm said.

Joel Aispuro, owner of Joel's, recently added a quasi-outdoor room to his restaurant that did not trigger a need for additional parking. With winter closing in, Aispuro wanted to put windows in the new room and was told by Grimm that the addition would make the structure enclosed, thus requiring additional parking space.

Aispuro knows that an open-air dining room would likely be unusable during winter months, but he said he cannot afford to add parking or pay an in-lieu fee.

"I understand that rules are rules, but I wish they could be a little more lenient with small businesses," Aispuro said. "How can parking cost more than the actual business? If you want to start a small business and they require five parking spaces, that's $50,000."

Aispuro said he has no intention of fighting the city and will not add the windows if they are deemed illegal.

The Loading Dock serves take-out food, but because it has what Grimm views as permanent seating areas, its owner, Darcy Peters, could be forced to add additional parking spaces.

Peters, who owns three parking spaces and leases five more, said her business could not survive the burden of adding parking or paying an in-lieu fee. By enforcing the letter of the law, Peters said the city would be penalizing a sector that has already been hit hard by the economy.

"It's just really sad," Peters said about the recent string of downtown business closures. "All these businesses have closed and nobody's buying them. The market is down."

Both Peters and Aispuro said the majority of their customers walk or ride bicycles to their restaurants and both feel they have more than enough parking to meet demand.

The problem with the current parking ordinance, according to Grimm, is that it penalizes businesses that are successful enough to expand and drives away entrepreneurs who are considering opening a downtown business.

"Our parking requirements are so severe and so aggressive that they probably make it impractical for a small entrepreneur — a mom-and-pop small business owner — to comply with them," he said.

Grimm said he will not take any action against the businesses until the city rules on the proposed changes.

The city will hold a workshop on the parking ordinance Nov. 18 at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. and Grimm advises any business owner who might be affected by the ordinance to attend.