SANDPOINT — After 15 years, Sandpoint’s guiding document is set to receive a major update.

On Monday, Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm and the Sandpoint City Council released a final draft of the city’s new comprehensive plan. The council will consider the plan for adoption at its regular meeting on July 17.

The new 134-page document has been in progress since September 2019 and will act as a roadmap for the physical development of the city.

At the core of the plan are five “pillars” introduced in the council’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan: vibrant culture, resilient economy, sustainable development, responsive government, and liveable community.

Several recently adopted master plans including documents dictating parks and recreation, multimodal transportation, and urban forestry policy have been incorporated into the comprehensive plan.

Also included are sections for community character, land use, housing, public facilities and utilities, jobs, the airport facility, and natural resources and hazards.

The city government recently emphasized the importance and authority of a comprehensive plan. The document is described as the “legal basis” for decisions such as subdivision and zoning regulations.

In other words, the comprehensive plan will play a major role in determining where and when new homes and businesses are built over the next 20 years.

Since the initiation of the new plan, the city has held 26 engagement opportunities including workshops, town halls, and council meetings examining the document or its contents.

The July 17 meeting may be the last opportunity for community members to provide testimony before the plan is adopted.

The final draft of Sandpoint’s new comprehensive plan can be accessed on the city’s website at www.sandpointidaho.gov/compplan.

City council meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of every month, 5:30 p.m., at Sandpoint City Hall, 1123 Lake St. The meetings are also livestreamed on Zoom at https://www.sandpointidaho.gov/your-government/meetings.