The minutes of the Nov. 15, 2016, meeting of the Sandpoint Planning Commission show Aaron Qualls, Planning & Economic Development Director, state that “Residential uses ultimately end up being a financial drain on cities.”

This is a puzzling comment from someone tasked with the responsibility of providing services for all of Sandpoint, especially when the services provided for the businesses already raise questions.

The minutes also reveal a lengthy discussion about “tiny houses” and “cottage housing” and featured a presentation by Steve Lockwood, board member of Idaho Smart Growth and the Idaho Conservation League, which support the Greater Sandpoint Greenprint initiative currently under consideration by the City Council. Tiny houses and cottages might be fine for single people, but soon enough the need and the desire for more customary housing will arise.

Qualls’ statement and support for the Greenprint give the impression that he is more focused on spreading the reach and control of the Sandpoint city government into the surrounding rural areas rather than on improving the existing quality of the city itself. Sandpoint has lost a lot of population in recent years, and in fact, the Greenprint document confirms in its appendix that between 2000 and 2010 it had the second slowest population growth in Bonner County.

There is much to question about the Greenprint, but much more to ask about the true allegiances of Aaron Qualls.

ANITA AURIT

Sandpoint