Parking lot tagged for closure
Approximately two-dozen cars use the parking lot daily at the corner of Fourth and Main that is slated to be closed July 30. (Photo by RALPH BARTHOLDT)
SANDPOINT — When a 24-car parking lot downtown closes this month it will leave fewer spaces in a heavily used area already facing a dearth of parking, some residents contend.
But the lot, on the corner of Main and Fourth Avenue, which is slated to close July 30, does not meet city code and therefore is tagged for closure, according to city officials.
Genevieve Pugesek is among dozens of daily users of the gravel lot next to Monarch Mountain Coffee.
Closing the lot, she said, makes no sense.
“Parking is already scarce around here,” Pugesek said. “Having one less parking lot is going to put quite a burden on the community.”
The lot, which came into existence after several buildings there were razed last year, was earmarked for development by Panhandle State Bank, which leases the property.
Instead of developing the site, however, the bank made a temporary parking area that was immediately used by motorists who feared getting ticketed in the downtown’s two-hour parking zones.
“I use it every day,” Jen Mills said. “I know several people who use it.”
City planner Jeremy Grimm, who informed the bank that it must either close or upgrade the lot to meet city code, said other lots exist less than two blocks away on the west side of Fifth Avenue, north of Main, and along Third Avenue.
The city sent a letter to the bank advising that the lot must be developed, upgraded to specifications, or closed, Grimm said.
Grimm said the city is aware of parking issues in the area, but its ordinance requires that new parking lots follow code, which requires paving and striping the lot, complying with drainage, and landscaping.
“I don’t have the authority to bend the rules, or apply them selectively,” Grimm said.
He said the city is not mandating the lot close, but simply asking the bank to comply.
Michael Whitley, the bank’s property manager said Panhandle State Bank has plans to eventually develop the property and therefore does not want to invest in upgrading the lot, a venture that could cost thousands of dollars.
“We don’t want to put money into hard surfacing that, and landscaping to city code, storm water management, engineering and design, if we change use when the plan to develop does materialize,” he said.
Instead, using barriers and chains, the lot will be closed July 30.
The closure comes at a time when the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association is asking the city to raise the fines for parking violations downtown to $100.
The DSBA asked the city to consider a proposal to raise the fines gradually to the four times their present amount.
“We recommend that city adopt an immediate fine adjustment that will provide a much greater incentive for repeat parking violators to purchase and use the widely available parking permits or spaces,” Kathleen Hyde, manager of the DSBA, wrote in a June letter to the city.
Hyde, who could not be reached for comment, recommended the City maintain its fine schedule for the first four violations — a maximum of $25.
She asked the city to fine violators $50 for the fifth and sixth violation in addition to reminding they can purchase permits for less than the cost of the ticket.
After that, tickets should be increased to $100, she said.
Mayor Gretchen Heller said one of the complaints from downtown business owners is that employees use parking spaces meant for customers.
Raising fines should send a clear message to employees to not park in front of businesses.
“A lot of business owners downtown are upset when employees parking downtown are taking away parking for customers,” Hellar said. “They would like to encourage parking outside the downtown core.”
The city is not required to accept the DSBA recommendation, she said.
The proposal will likely be submitted to a council committee before it is heard by the full city council.