Sandpoint City Council approves preliminary plan for proposed Ridley Village Court townhome development
SANDPOINT — City councilors in attendance voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a preliminary design plan for a proposed 57-unit townhome development in south Sandpoint.
Both the council and Sandpoint's planning and zoning commission must approve a final development plan and preliminary plat before construction can begin at the site.
The development in question, Ridley Village Court, is proposed to be constructed on a vacant 4.1-acre parcel south of Forrest M. Bird Charter School. The area is in a residential multifamily zone; because the applicant, Affinity Real Estate Management, is suggesting lot dimensions and building setbacks not accounted for in Sandpoint's zoning regulations, they must go through the planned unit development permit process, during which city officials weigh the public benefits the development represents against the waivers and flexibility from the city's zoning standards.
Sandpoint's planning and zoning commission approved the project's preliminary plan in a March 4 hearing contingent on a set of conditions the developer would be required to comply with. In a March 19 memo, a representative of the developer expressed an intent to accommodate six of the seven conditions, which included implementing lighting on streets intersecting with Ridley Village Road and installing a fence along the northern property line adjacent to the charter school.
While the developer presented a revised design in response to the commission's desire to see a planned open community space relocated to the eastern edge of the development to create a buffer between Ridley Village Court and the existing Maplewood neighborhood, the representative argued the change would make the space less useful to residents and could cause the private area to be perceived as public.
The representative also reported that the developer disagreed with the commission's request for the designers to extend Autumn Lane between Madison Avenue and Ridley Village Road, which commissioners said would promote connectivity in accordance with objectives outlined in Sandpoint's comprehensive plan. In the memo, the representative argued that connecting the road would create a less safe environment for school-aged children and disproportionately increase through traffic in the area.
While deliberating on the matter, councilors recognized the concerns about increased traffic and activity voiced by neighboring residents during city officials' review of the preliminary plan. Councilors Joel Aispuro and Kyle Schreiber expressed support for the developer's original layout, which included a central open area and no through connection for Autumn Lane based on feedback from residents who had commented throughout the process.
Aispuro told attendees that the development's potential to help Sandpoint meet housing demand made the project one worth advancing.
"I think that this is something that the community does need, and there aren't very many spots where this can be developed," he said.
"In my experience, I haven't seen an applicant work this hard with the citizens to do what's best for Sandpoint, and I really respect that," he added. "I can also respect and understand that people do not want more traffic, and this is very difficult position to be in,"
Councilors ultimately voted to move the plan forward with the original layout proposed by the developer along with a requirement to implement traffic-calming measures in the area to discourage through traffic. With the preliminary plan approved, the developer must return with a final development plan and preliminary plat for a pair of hearings before Sandpoint's planning and zoning commission and city council. No timeline has been announced for either hearing.
The development is slated to take place south of Forrest M. Bird Charter School in south Sandpoint.