Developers unveil Super 1 store plans

SANDPOINT — Plans for a proposed Super 1 grocery store were officially unveiled at Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, even though the city has little say in how the project develops.

The 52,960-square-foot supermarket would sit on approximately 5.5 acres of land at the old LP Mill site, which is located on the corner of Boyer Avenue and Larch Street.

The property, currently owned by Renova Partners LLC., is zoned for commercial use, which means Super 1 officials are not required to submit to conditional use permits in order to receive a building permit, according to Jeremy Grimm, Sandpoint’s planning director.

“Because these are divine rights, there is no requirement for a public hearing or public input,” Grimm said. He later added, “Our existing code only governs parking lots, use, setbacks and buffering. So we really don’t have a lot of tools in our toolbox to affect the way a property is developed.”

Grimm was not required to bring the proposal before the commission, but said the meeting would bring about a better understanding of the plan.

“There’s been a lot of public interest in the project, so I thought it would benefit the public to better understand the process, as well as benefiting the Planning Commission,” he said. “On a high-interest project like this, I think the more openness and communication and education that my department can provide to the public, the better.”

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While the meeting was ostensibly for the public’s benefit, only a handful of residents attended, and even fewer spoke out about the project.

Sandpoint’s Dustin Chapin, who opposes the proposal, turned in a petition with what he claimed were hundreds of signatures from residents concerned about the development.

Among other complaints, Chapin said the store would not adhere to the principles of the city’s recently-completed comprehensive plan. The comp plan puts the property in context area CA-5, which calls for row houses or small multi-story structures with mixed-use components.

“I would just like to see this development, if it wants to integrate into the city, try to align itself a little more with the comp plan,” Chapin said.

The commissioners also had questions about the project, many of which focused on how the store would impact traffic on Larch and Boyer.

In the proposal, Renova agreed to install a traffic light at the intersection of Boyer and Larch, as well as widening both streets to allow for a third lane and additional bike lanes, according to Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk.

Under the agreement, the developer would pay for the traffic light and 50 percent of the costs associated with widening the streets.

“What we said was that they’re responsible for installing it. They can utilize their impact fees, dollar for dollar, to pay that back,” Van Dyk said. “So, say the traffic signal costs $300,000 and their impact fees are $250,000, that means the city wouldn’t require them to pay the $250,000 impact fee, but they’d still have to put up an additional $50,000 for the traffic signal.”

Although the city has little say in the project, Grimm said there are a few areas in the site plan that do not meet city code. Among several other minor changes, the developers will need to submit a revised plan that does away with approximately 20 parking spaces and adds more bike racks and handicapped parking spaces. They will also need to supply the city with a landscape plan that includes hundreds of on-site trees.

Grimm said he will deliver the conditions for approval by week’s end. If both parties agree to the changes, the developers could immediately apply for a building permit.