SANDPOINT — On July 1, the day the city's new parking program went into effect, community members gathered at the Church Street city lot to protest the implementation of paid parking. 

Issues surrounding the program have been debated for roughly a year, after the City Council adopted the parking plan last summer. Since then, residents and community members have weighed in at council meetings and taken to social media to discuss the effects the program would have on the city. 

Several protestors voiced their frustrations over the parking program, saying they only recently learned of the changes and feel like it has been sprung on them. 

Concerns were not exclusive to Sandpoint residents at the protest. Downtown employees who live out of town said they were frustrated they didn't have a say in the changes, and Bonner County residents that consider Sandpoint their hometown said they don't feel heard. 

According to the city’s website, the paid parking program is designed to improve parking availability in Sandpoint’s busiest downtown and waterfront areas while creating a sustainable funding source for the maintenance and improvement of public parking facilities. As part of the paid parking program, Sandpoint city residents can purchase a $20 annual permit and Bonner County residents can purchase a $35 annual permit. 

Mayor Jeremy Grimm said cities are tasked with maintaining the public assets residents expect, even as costs for health care, public safety, construction materials, equipment, and infrastructure maintenance rise, while state law limits annual property tax budget growth to 3% a year. 

“This program creates a dedicated user-supported revenue source that helps preserve critical community infrastructure without placing the full burden on local taxpayers,” said Grimm. 

Many protestors expressed their worries about the lack of affordability for low-income residents and teenagers of the region — a concern that Tara Brady, a Sandpoint resident, raised during the protest. 

Reflecting on the origins of Sandpoint, Brady said the city was "based on hardworking people and there wasn't a lot of money."

Still, the wealth of residents didn't matter because they were able to enjoy the lake and City Beach for free, Brady said. 

Now, Brady says that right has been stripped from low-income residents who are unable to pay the annual parking fee. 

"To a lot of families around here, it's a lot of money, and they don't have it in their budget to do that," she said. 

Brady said the influx of wealthy, multi-home-owning families moving to Sandpoint doesn't negate the challenges faced by underprivileged residents. 

Even though people who relocate to the city will "gladly pay" the $20 annual parking fee, living in Sandpoint hasn't always been that way for longtime residents, Brady said. 

For more information on the parking program, visit sandpointidaho.gov/parking.

    Community members walk with signs in hand to protest the city's parking program.