P&Z OKs affordable housing replat plan

SANDPOINT — The Planning Commission kept busy for several hours carving up lots Tuesday night.

In response to a request from Whitewater Creek, the developers of the low-income friendly townhouses near Super 1 projected for spring construction, the Planning Commission finalized a plan to replat the area from four lots into 10. 

Super 1 occupies the first lot, which will remain exactly the same under the replat. The remaining three lots will transform into lots two, three, four, five and 10 to the east and northeast of the Super 1 lot and lots six, seven, eight and nine directly north of the Super 1 lot.

According to Raphael Barta, who represented property owners Milltown Park and Renova Partners, the only lot currently set for development is lot 10, the site for the 50 LEED certified townhouses. He predicted that other lots would likely serve as sites for more affordable housing in the future. Finally, Barta said attractions like a community center, ice skating rink and multiplex theater would occupy the remaining lots. 

Barta cited the advantages of the affordable townhouses as an immediate benefit to the replatting efforts. He said the construction jobs and commerce the project will bring an economic boost to the community. More importantly, however, the resulting town homes will provide energy efficient, high quality affordable homes for the community’s less affluent members. 

“We encourage the Planning Commission to support this,” Barta said. “There are very many desirable qualities both in the short- and long-term to the project.”

Planning Commission members’ primary concern in replatting the area was to ensure that development conditions included a handful of improvements required by the city. According to City Planner Jeremy Grimm, after the final replat is approved, it is almost impossible to set any additional conditions.

“Once the horse is out the barn, it’s tough to get him back in,” Grimm said. “After this is approved in this configuration, it’s very difficult to exact roads and other improvements from developers.”

The situation was complicated further by the fact that Whitewater Creek, the replat request applicant, plans to own only lot 10 at this point. Many of the desired improvements, like a bike path around the northern and eastern edge of the ten lots and a widening of Boyer Avenue along lots six, seven, eight and nine, exist in areas that haven’t yet been sold to developers.

“Personally, I think that putting a bike path on Whitewater Creek and saying, ‘Hey, in five years you need to have this done when’ they won’t even own the rest of the lots is stretching it,” Fire Chief Robert Tyler said.

The Planning Commission determined to add several conditions to the development agreement.

In the interest of ensuring complementary frontages, they designated Boyer Avenue as the mandated frontage street for lots six, seven, eight and nine. They also added a 10-foot easement just inside the property line for the planned bike path. Finally, members made other tweaks to improve accessibility and traffic flow in the area.

“I feel like the decisions we’ve made tonight have been fair to both the developer and the city,” Commissioner Kathleen Hyde-Bordenave said.