Community invited to comp plan work session
SANDPOINT — A final review of the city of Sandpoint’s Comprehensive Plan will be taking place next week along with a public working session.
The review and working session are planned for Tuesday, Feb. 13.
“The Comprehensive Plan is the community’s long-range vision for the future and provides a strategic framework for reaching that vision for the next 15 years,” Sandpoint city officials said in a press release. “Through the direction of specific goals and objectives, the plan will be used to guide land use regulations such as zoning and subdivisions, as well as funding decisions on other policies and programs.”
The plan’s development, which began fall of 2019, was paused in 2020 and restarted in 2022 with additional engagement on community vision, housing, and neighborhoods.
On Jan. 4, the Planning and Zoning Commission met to discuss the plan, at which time City Planner Amy Tweetin presented on public engagement collected through recent public workshops and online comments.
“We had the plan online for just over a month,” Tweetin said. “Particularly on the online version we got a lot of comments. The public workshops, between the two nights, had about 60 or so attendees.”
Frequent themes that have emerged from public comment so far include adding language on heritage trees, building heights, language regarding climate change, addressing infrastructure, and adding more references to tribal heritage.
Open house workshops were held last year April 27, Nov. 29, and Dec. 7. Further review and incorporation of comments from a joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission workshop, and a commission public hearing have been included in the final draft. It is anticipated that, following this working session, the council will hold a final public hearing to consider adopting and implementing the plan, officials said.
The working session scheduled to encourage more community engagement with the plan will take place at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at Sandpoint City Hall, 1123 Lake Street. Public comment will be accepted, but no action will be taken at that time.
Info.: www.sandpointidaho.gov/compplan