Council: Change church rezone plan

SANDPOINT —  A controversial proposal to rezone the former St. Joseph's Catholic Church for commercial use was temporarily derailed Wednesday when the City Council sent it back to the Planning and Zoning Commission for revisions.

The proposal, put forward by Dover-based developer Bruce Pedersen, would change the 100-year-old church's current Residential B zone to the more intense Commercial D.

After hearing testimony from Pedersen as well as a number of residents opposing the plan, the council voted to remand the request back to Planning and Zoning with guidance to draw up a development agreement aimed at limiting future use of the church.

The sticking point, according to several council members, was Pedersen's reluctance to sign a agreement with the city that would narrow focus of the development. Signing an agreement would limit his options for how to best use the property, said Pedersen.

Councilman John Reuter said he is not opposed to the site's development, but wants a guarantee that the area's "park-like atmosphere" will go unchanged and the church's exterior will remain intact.

Councilman Doug Hawkins Jr. agreed that the property could be developed, but said without more knowledge of Pedersen's plans, the Commercial D zone is too broad.

"Without a development agreement, I would be fearful about what would happen to this property," Hawkins said.

In arguing for the rezone, Pedersen cited the city's proposed comprehensive plan, which he said will allow commercial zoning on the block once it gains council approval.

"This zone change is 100 percent congruent and aligned with the comp plan," Pedersen said. "The property lends itself well to a contemporary mixed-use development."

A 51-person petition against the rezone was presented to the council, and several residents of the neighborhood attended the meeting to voice their concern over the proposal.

"One of the things we're trying to do is preserve our neighborhoods," said Tom Letourneau, who lives across the street from the church. "What we want is to keep commercial activity where it belongs, which is downtown."

The unanimous vote will send the plan back to Planning and Zoning, where it will be heard for the second time. The commission voted against recommending the same project at its August meeting.