City ponders lake access rights of way

SANDPOINT — The grassy swath of land follows the riverbank southwest of the city wastewater treatment plant.

It is a rectangle of checkerboard yards that end in a piney plot of woods along the Pend Oreille River.

Named Grey Way by city planners, the right of way at the end of Ella Avenue that crosses manicured lawns is public property, although there are no accouterments such as benches, signs or lights.

Opening a series of rights of way along the river is being considered by the Parks and Recreation Department in its new master plan.

The city was in the process of drafting a letter destined for the mailboxes of homeowners who would be affected by the action. But property owners on the southern ends of Boyer, Division, Ella and Euclid avenues won’t receive the letters any time soon.

At least not until the land owners participate in the discussion on how best to proceed.

Council member John Reuter, who brought up the issue, said it isn’t the council’s intent to inflame neighbors along the rights of way.

Instead, the city wants to establish what land is in the public sector.

“Our intent is not to impede on private property rights,” Reuter said. “We want to establish what the citizens of Sandpoint actually own at this point.

“The question is, what belongs to all of us?”

Six blocks to the east of the Ella Avenue site, Chris Chambers lives in a house overlooking the river at Euclid Avenue.

The street here dead ends next to the house, and Chambers and his neighbors maintain a swath of grass that gradually drops to the shoreline.

Chambers understands the city’s desire to open rights of way to provide more public access to the water, but he prefers to leave them as is.

“I think they are already open and accessible and used by people in the neighborhood,” he said.

“I don’t understand what type of changes they would make to improve what’s already there.”

Chambers and his neighbors already treat the Euclid Avenue property as a park, he said, cleaning any litter and dog droppings from the site and cutting the grass.

“I think we’re pretty good stewards,” he said.

Formally opening the right of way could cause problems such as traffic congestion and might require additional policing.

“Working as a neighborhood park, it probably functions pretty good as it is right now,” he said.

Parks and Rec director Kim Woodruff said the city will continue compiling data including public comment in its effort to draft a master plan for the city’s parks and trails by next summer.

In a survey last year the city asked approximately 4,000 city residents for input. About 20 percent returned the survey.

“Access to water was very important to the people who responded,” Woodruff said.

At the same time, he said, the city is sensitive to the concerns of neighboring homeowners.

That is what former council member and city clerk Helen Newton wants to hear.

She spoke at a city administrative meeting cautioning the city to move slowly when it comes to reclaiming waterfront rights of way.

“I’m in favor of utilizing all the public access we can,” Newton said.

Waterfront property is rare and a valuable public asset, she added.

“But, this is an area where the city needs to work with property owners,” said Newton.

The city plans to meet with the public in the coming months to gather additional input, Reuter said.

“There is more public input to come,” he said. “Before we do anything, we’ll have a hearing, and then we’ll go back and ask, did we get it right?”