City OKs temporary moratorium

SANDPOINT — With a number of rezone requests in recent months for land surrounding the airport, City Council members approved a temporary moratorium on new requests Wednesday night.

“As we know, the airport is absolutely critical to our economy and to the town, as are opportunities for housing,” said Aaron Qualls, city planning and economic development director. “This gives us a chance to let the planning commission continue their work on a comprehensive plan update.”

The moratorium will be in effect for one year to allow adequate time for completing the comprehensive plan, public notifications, and formal amendment, according to the ordinance document. During the term of the moratorium, the city will not accept or process zone change applications that are within the airport overlay zone.

The moratorium does not apply to applications completed and received by the city prior to the adoption of the ordinance.

The temporary moratorium on new rezone requests within the airport overlay zone was proposed during the June 19 council meeting to allow adequate time for updates to the city’s comprehensive plan, including a section addressing the Sandpoint Airport.

The moratorium is intended as an interim solution to protect the health, safety and welfare of citizens within proximity to the airport, according to the ordinance.

Through the comprehensive plan update, the city will also consider adopting best practices to ensure people living or working nearby are not exposed to unacceptable levels of noise or air traffic-related hazards, and to preserve economic viability.

Qualls said the proposed updates to the comprehensive plan would add a state-required chapter on the airport and its land use. Idaho’s Airport Land Use Guidelines provide six recommended airport land use compatibility zones, he said. Those include runway protection zones, lateral safety zones, critical zones, airport traffic pattern area, airport influence area and impact coordination zone.

The recommendations are intended as a starting place, Qualls said, though the composition of those zones is determined by the local jurisdiction.

An interim update to the comprehensive plan is slated for December of this year, intended to specifically address possible airport compatibility zones and other factors around the airport. Completion of the overall update is slated for fall 2020, though Qualls said if council feels the update is in order before then, the moratorium could be lifted earlier than one year.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.