SANDPOINT — The Planning Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to recommend an overhaul of the city’s lot coverage, size and density code to the City Council on Tuesday.

Planning and Community Development Director Jason Welker presented three major changes, which he said will increase density with the goal of promoting more affordable housing. One of those reworks was to the city's maximum building footprint standards in residential zones. 

"The big idea here is that these amendments are a local incremental step to enable more attainable housing in Sandpoint,” Welker said. “When supply cannot keep up with demand, we see families get pushed out and that’s a big part of what we’re talking about here.” 

Under the amended code, single-story buildings in the residential single-family zone could exceed the current 35% building footprint limit. The code would eliminate the 40% building footprint cap in the residential multifamily zone but retain the 70% impervious surface maximum. 

Welker said this would allow property owners to have more flexibility with their land and add additional dwelling units, if they so choose. He said those ADUs or attached garages could become space for more family, short-term or long-term rentals. 

Commissioner Grant Simmions was the lone dissenting vote. Simmions said he was concerned about the consequences of expanding the housing supply alongside the commission’s decision to recommend, among other changes, eliminating the city’s cap of non-owner occupied STRs in residential zones to the City Council. 

"We think about the decision we just made with short-term rentals, man that can get really bad,” Simmons said. “I’m just saying that there is some potential for unintended consequences.” 

The other proposed changes surround lot size and density in the residential multifamily zone. Staff is proposing shrinking the minimum lot size in from 5,000 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Welker said the change is in-line with how Sandpoint was originally platted, increasing the number of homes on a lot and making code enforcement simpler. 

Welker used the example of a 14,000 square foot lot, which under the current code could have a maximum of four dwelling units on the two lots. Under the proposed code, Welker said that land could be divided into four lots and house a maximum of eight dwelling units. 

In the proposed amendment, the amount of allowed primary dwelling units would increase in RM zones as lots got larger, starting at one for a 3,500 square foot lot and going up to six for a 12,100 square foot or more lot. 

"I do think the amount of potential housing that could come out of this change is overall beneficial for the affordability of Sandpoint,” Commissioner Reid Weber said. “Some out-of-town developers will probably take advantage of that, but also a lot of locals who own land will benefit from creating smaller, more affordable housing in this area.” 

Welker said these changes are small and targeted changes to increase Sandpoint’s housing supply. He said the code changes will not solve the nationwide affordability crisis, but it might provide further options for all levels of the housing market. 

The changes to code align with several Idaho housing non-profits' recommendations such as the Gem State Housing Alliance and Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance. In its policy agenda, the GSHA calls on cities to simplify subdivision standards and reduce minimum lot sizes. 

"While local policy cannot control inflation, we can remove barriers to local supply,” Welker said. “That’s what we are proposing with these amendments.” 

The amended code will move to the Sandpoint City Council for a final decision at a meeting next year. The entire Dec. 16 commission meeting is available to watch on the city’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/@cityofsandpoint.