Planning and Zoning Commission approves proposal to shrink Sandpoint's area of impact
An image included in a public memo shows Sandpoint's current area of impact (left, in pink) and the proposed boundaries (right).
Courtesy photo
SANDPOINT — Planning and Zoning commissioners unanimously approved a proposal to shrink Sandpoint’s area of impact to a quarter of its current size in a March 18 meeting.
Community Planning and Development Director Jason Welker said the change is designed to bring the city into compliance with a new state law. The proposed boundaries will need approval from Sandpoint City councilors and then Bonner County commissioners to go into effect.
An area of impact is a designated region outside of a city’s boundaries where future growth is anticipated. Sandpoint’s current impact area encompasses 12.3 square miles and stretches more than 3 miles north and 2 miles west of existing city limits.
The proposed area is 3.4 square miles and mostly includes land north and west of Sandpoint Airport. Welker told attendees the new boundaries would paint a more realistic picture of where Sandpoint could support water and sewer infrastructure in the coming years.
“The existing area of city impact is vast,” Welker said. “We have some very rural areas that are not only unlikely, but not even able to ever be served by city utilities.”
The change comes as cities across the state develop plans to shrink their areas of impact in response to a 2023 law stipulating that areas of impact cannot extend more than 2 miles from a city’s boundaries and “shall not exceed the areas that are very likely to be annexed to the city within the next five years.”
“From the city staff's perspective, and from what I would assume is City Council's perspective, there's really no intent or likelihood of annexation beyond our existing city limits in the near future,” Welker noted. “Nothing would change for people living in this area.”
To accommodate population growth in the coming years, Welker said that the city intends to encourage developers to fill in underutilized areas within city limits rather than sprawl into the rural surroundings.
“It's not in the city taxpayers’ or City Council's interest to expand out into the county,” he added. “It's way cheaper to serve denser development in Sandpoint’s traditional neighborhoods.”
The proposed boundaries will next be reviewed by Sandpoint City Council. The deadline for Bonner County commissioners to make a final ruling is Dec. 31, 2025.