SANDPOINT — Council members approved revisions to the City Code regarding sidewalk construction, with the intention of repealing and replacing the existing code.

“The ultimate goal with these revisions is to provide additional clarity — we have some challenges with the clarity of the existing code — and also to provide additional fairness and equity in looking toward the responsibility, specifically the financial responsibility, associated with constructing new sidewalks,” said Amanda Wilson, the city’s Infrastructure and Development Services manager, during the Dec. 18 council meeting.

The current code places the responsibility of sidewalk construction on the property owner with some exceptions, including if the value of the building is less than $25,000. If it is a single-family home valued at more than $25,000 but less than $25,000, the property owner may qualify for a deferral based on a number of criteria, Wilson said. There are a number of other deferral options listed in the code as well, though Wilson said the reason the word “deferral” is used is that the city could come back later and tell the property owner to build the sidewalk.

“This code has served us well for quite some time, in a variety of ways, and it’s provided new sidewalk where we otherwise didn’t have it,” Wilson said.

The new code approved by council last week starts a new purpose statement, Wilson said, with the intent of “affirming the importance of sidewalks within the community” by incorporating a requirement for council to adopt a multimodal transportation plan. The purpose statement also provides consistency by referencing the city’s comprehensive plan, she said.

The new code places a “fairly substantial” amount of responsibility on the city, Wilson said. As such new sidewalk construction will be the responsibility of the city when it is included in an adopted capital improvement plan or as otherwise approved by City Council. Repair or replacement of existing sidewalks is the responsibility of the city under the same conditions, she said.

It will be the property owner’s responsibility when a new building is being constructed, or an addition or remodel is constructed at more than 25 percent of the existing structure’s value. The value a new building is based on the construction permit value, and the value of an existing structure is based on the Bonner County assessment value, Wilson said. Repair or replacement will fall under the same conditions, or as ordered by council.

Under exceptions, the code does not apply to construction resulting from casualty loss, such as a fire, and also provides the property owner to pay a fee to the city in lieu of construction.

Councilwoman Deb Ruehle went over a number of concerns she had with the proposed code, particularly in putting much responsibility on the city. If the city doesn’t have funding for a sidewalk in a specific area, for example, she worried it may not get done. Community members were also both for and against the proposed new code, calling it “complex” with concerns of how it refers to master plans that have not yet been completed, among other concerns. Some people said they would like to see the entire responsibility of sidewalk construction fall on the city.

Ruehle motioned to table a decision on the code changes, but the motion died for lack of a second. The motion to approve the changes was approved in a 4-1 vote.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.