SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint City Council voted to adopt the maximum recommended development impact fees at its meeting Wednesday night. 

The vote was split 3-3, with councilors Kyle Schreiber, Pam Duquette and Deb Ruehle voting for the motion and councilors Joel Aispuro, Justin Dick and Rick Howarth dissenting. Mayor Jeremy Grimm broke the tie with a "yes” vote to pass the motion.  

The rift between the council formed after Schreiber pushed for the city to adopt the maximum recommended amount starting in fiscal year 2026, instead of the phased approach the council had discussed taking in its June 25 discussion.  

“If we can all agree that this is the correct amount where growth pays for growth, it seems to me that going directly to the full amount is the correct conclusion,” Schreiber said. “Otherwise, we are going to be subsidizing new growth with the existing residents.” 

Howarth expressed concern that gaging fees off the city’s 10-year comprehensive plan could leave the city committed to plans it can’t afford or having to return already collected development impact fees. 

“I think what’s in that master plan is a little bit over-inflated and from that perspective the phased approach would be the better approach,” Howarth said. “I think we are going to find out that we are not going to be able to fund that level from a city perspective.” 

Nicholas Huff, a representative from TischlerBise, the Boise-based consulting firm who conducted the development impact fee study, said the city is only committing itself to the already outlined amount of road improvement projects. Those projects are set to cost Sandpoint around $25 million, and the city estimates $5 million of that will be funded by development impact fees.  

The rest of the projects are on an “incremental expansion approach” and the city is not obligated to provide every capital improvement project on the existing list, Huff said. 

Schreiber agreed with Howarth and noted that he’d like the council to review the city’s comprehensive plan but pushed forward with adopting the maximum amount of recommended fees. 

With the adoption of the maximum recommended fees, some fees will almost double, the largest increase in the city’s development impact fees in a decade, according to Grimm. However, Grimm said that these fee increases will not decrease potential development because the fee amount is such a small part of the overall building costs. 

“You’re talking a difference of a 1-1.5% margin or change in the total cost of construction by the updated impact fee,” said Jason Welker, Sandpoint Planning and Community Development director. “That’s reflecting the impact that single family home on our system, our streets, pathways, our parks, police and fire.” 

Development impact fees are paid for by developers in Sandpoint when building permits are taken out. The fee revenue is only able to be used for capital improvement projects, not already existing infrastructure.  

The change will bring Sandpoint’s overall development impact fee to the second highest in the region, behind only Post Falls. The city's current fee sits fifth in the surrounding region, just above Couer d’Alene. 

The city estimated the development impact fee revenue would contribute $7.4 million for the Parks and Recreation Department, $1.4 million for expanding non-motorized pathways, $5 million for roadway improvements, $551,000 for expansion of the police station and $908,000 for expansion of the fire station.