Driveway, fence dispute in Spirit Lake

In an escalation of an ongoing permit battle, the city of Spirit Lake installed a fence in front of Joe Sandbank's secondary driveway. After Sandbank removed the fence, the case is moving through the prosecutor's office.

"My understanding is that there are charges or citations for the damages of what he's done over there with the fence," Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite said. "And that's between Mr. Sandbank and the law."

In 2019, Sandbank purchased his residence on West Coeur d'Alene Drive, in the county and outside Spirit Lake city limits, with the intention of constructing an access road to the rear of his property, which encroached onto 17th Street, within Spirit Lake city limits.

"It's half the reason I bought that property," he said.

He looked forward to the convenience of using 17th Street to pick up his kids from school or go shopping. Sandbank said he asked the city about the driveway, and "They gave me permission. They said they don't have anything to do with it because I'm on county land."

Sandbank started work on the road Sept. 27, 2019, according to a permit application he submitted in August of the following year. He also submitted a permit application to the Spirit Lake City Council on Nov. 5, 2019, but according to the minutes, he never showed up for that meeting. His application was denied after he didn't attend two meetings, but he had already built his driveway, as indicated by the meeting minutes and permit applications.

“For one thing, it’s my property,” Sandbank said in a phone interview with The Press.

So the city sent cease and desist notifications and eventually placed large boulders at the end of the driveway to prevent Sandbank from using it.

"If the city allows one county resident to have private access to city streets, then that would set a precedent for others to do the same," wrote Ken Nelson in a letter to the mayor dated Nov. 8, 2019. Nelson, a nearby neighbor and the director of operations for H and E Equipment Services, objected to the driveway.

"The city has put concrete barriers in place to prevent access to the private property, but those barriers are being circumvented," Nelson continued in the letter. "As a homeowner on the street, I must say this is somewhat of an eyesore. If there is any way a fence could be installed, I feel that would be the best long-term solution."

In a bid to address the issue, Sandbank, represented by attorney Scott Poorman, filed a request to speak before the council Oct. 13, 2020, challenging the permit application denial.

"The decision is the definition of arbitrary and capricious," Poorman argued before the council, as recorded in the meeting minutes. "It has no basis. It's just a denial, and we're appealing for that reason."

In order to restore calm, then-Councilman Jeremy Cowperthwaite asked to reverse the decision without granting approval, to revisit the documents and reinitiate the process. This allowed Sandbank to resubmit his permit application.

The city denied the application again Sept. 9, 2020, stating "the proposed approach did not meet the required standards" or "the location approach would create a pedestrian vehicle traffic hazard."

Through the appeal process, it also came to light to Poorman that 17th Street did not meet the right-of-way requirements for the city and was partially privately owned and partially city-owned based on a decision in 1909. The denial also cited an incomplete application that lacked a site plan, but those details were later added in reiterations of the application.

"I offered to pay every fee, everything," Sandbank said.

City engineers and staff cited multiple reasons the encroachment permit could not be approved, first of which is that there's no code that allows for a county property to encroach onto city land.

"I don't think it's even legally possible to tie a county property to the city," Cowperthwaite said. "You're not in the city to get an encroachment permit."

Sandbank still used his driveway, according to the city staff, so in June of 2021, the council approved a fence to be installed in the area. Then-Councilman Cowperthwaite cast the dissenting vote against the fence, citing precedent.

"If the city puts up this fence, we need to be prepared to put fences up all over the city," Cowperthwaite said in a phone call with The Press.

Sandbank later removed the fence, destroying public property, which he admitted to, Cowperthwaite said.

"It was partially uninstalled," Cowperthwaite said. "And it's common knowledge that Sandbank did it. He admitted to doing it."

The case has been referred to the county prosecutor's office.

Damage estimates totaled $19,000 for the fence that was taken out, $1,293 to reinstall and $1,812 for dirt work.

"I've more or less just backed off," Sandbank said. "They've totally lied and screwed me over."