Mixed-use zoning tops council agenda
<p>Sandpoint Arts Commission has forwarded this flag design to the council for approval as the official Sandpoint flag. (Courtesy artwork)</p><p></p>
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint officials anticipate two city meetings — a workshop and the regular council meeting — this week.
The Sandpoint City Council examined the issue of mixed use residential zoning at a special workshop Monday. The proposed rezoning would expand residence-based businesses like bed-and-breakfasts, corner stores, and small brewpubs in select neighborhoods. Members decided to schedule the workshop following concerns over the proposed zone changes at the Nov. 6 council meeting. Specifically, meeting attendees cited worries regarding an increase of vehicle traffic, crime and noise. Others were also concerned that expanding Sandpoint’s commercial space could have a negative impact on downtown vitality.
Council members hope to address these worries while still retaining the increased flexibility and variety provided through the new zoning. While the Sandpoint Comprehensive Plan calls for pushing certain areas of town toward mixed-use, council members agree some tweaking of boundaries and regulations might be beneficial. The workshop will help them decide precisely what those tweaks will entail, council members said.
With the workshop complete, Councilwoman Carrie Logan said a decision on the matter will likely take place Dec. 4.
Council members will gather once again 5:30 p.m. tomorrow for their regularly scheduled council meeting. The evening agenda is relatively sparse, with only a few business matters to attend beyond the routine consent calendar items and bill approvals.
Most notable is a resolution expressing the city’s support for the venerable Memorial Field. The site of some quintessential local activities like high school sports games and the Festival at Sandpoint, the field requires a replacement of its aging grandstands, originally constructed in 1948. The city has since established a dedicated capital improvements fund for the field and is working with local nonprofit the Friends of Memorial Field to help finance grandstand reconstruction.
The proposed resolution is yet another gesture of the city’s lasting commitment to the historic park, stating that the city “supports the prospect that the park facility remain open to use by community groups.”
Finally, Sandpoint could soon be getting new symbolic representation in the form of an official city flag.
A project spearheaded by the Sandpoint Arts Commission, the proposed design features a mountain and a lake sandwiching the words “Sandpoint, Idaho: what a beautiful place.”
An earlier version of this article was written during an earlier week, and as a result, language used to describe meeting times was rendered inaccurate. It has been updated to reflect the accurate meeting times this week.