Sandpoint City Council approves proposal to shrink area of impact by 70%
Sandpoint's proposed area of impact, right, is about 70% smaller than its existing area, left.
Photos courtesy CITY OF SANDPOINT
SANDPOINT — A majority of city councilors voted in favor of a proposal to shrink Sandpoint’s area of impact by about 70% during a Wednesday meeting.
The change, staff said, is designed to bring the city into compliance with a recently changed state law. Bonner County has final authority over areas of impact; county commissioners will determine the official boundaries by the end of the year.
The proposal to reduce the city’s area of impact originally appeared before Sandpoint’s planning and zoning commission in March. The body decided to advise city councilors to bring a new 3.4-square-mile area — down from the existing 12.3-square-mile zone — to Bonner County for final approval.
An area of impact is a designated region outside of a city’s boundaries where future growth is anticipated. Statewide changes introduced recently by Idaho lawmakers are now requiring areas of impact to extend no further than 2 miles from city limits and only include regions “very likely to be annexed within the next five years.”
Sandpoint’s existing area of impact violates the first clause, extending more than 3 miles north of city limits. The second clause, regarding the likelihood of imminent annexation, was a topic of discussion during the meeting.
In March, Jason Welker, Sandpoint’s community planning and development director, said that there is no likelihood of Sandpoint’s boundaries expanding “in the near future.”
The point was reiterated by Mayor Jeremy Grimm on Wednesday, when he told attendees that he “would be very surprised if there's any annexation happening in the rest of my term,” which extends through 2027.
Councilor Rick Howarth, the lone council member who voted against the proposal, expressed appreciation for the effort to shrink Sandpoint’s area of impact, but noted the city’s ambiguity surrounding annexation plans and described the somewhat arbitrary nature of the new boundaries as a sticking point.
Grimm said that the law’s language makes it difficult to precisely identify an appropriate area. Both Grimm and Zachary Jones, legal advisor for Sandpoint, described Idaho Code Section 67-6526 — the law dictating areas of impact — as vague and poorly written.
In recent months, local municipalities have met to discuss their revised areas and identify overlaps. Sandpoint’s lone conflict is with the city of Dover, regarding a pocket of land on the east side of Chuck Slough.
The two cities’ planning teams were unable to reach a consensus regarding which party’s area the land should fall under, meaning county officials will draw the boundaries. While Welker said he would leave the decision to Bonner County personnel, Grimm shared that he intended to advocate for Sandpoint’s claim to the sector.
Sandpoint’s revised area of impact will be determined no later than Dec. 31, 2025 — the deadline for Idaho counties to confirm redrawn area of impact boundaries.