City sidewalk plan provokes backlash
SANDPOINT — A proposed ordinance requiring sidewalk repair or installation when a home is sold provoked a backlash Wednesday.
A large majority of residents who turned out for the council meeting opposed the Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee’s suggested approach to address Sandpoint’s disjointed and poorly-maintained sidewalk system, calling the measure an undue burden on local property owners. In response, council members asked committee members to return next month with documentation on how other cities have implemented a similar point-of-sale approach to sidewalk maintenance.
Residents identified several perceived problems with the ordinance, the most common among them being the cost of installation. According to Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk, the average cost of sidewalk installation is $30 per square foot. Councilman Justin Schuck said that as a professional builder, he usually saw a cost of $2,200 for a 65-foot sidewalk on easy-to-manage ground. However, meeting attendees reported that the cost for average homeowners could be much higher, offering price points ranging from $5,000-$8,000. Many homeowners in attendance said that was an added expense they simply could not afford.
As a representative of the Selkirk Association of Realtors, Raphael Barta said that all 280 organization members oppose the proposed ordinance. He also pointed out that no matter whether you owned a tiny starter home or a mansion, the cost of repairing or installing a sidewalk remained the same.
“This program acts like a regressive tax — it disproportionately affects the lower end of the scale,” he said.
Other Realtors said the proposal would complicate their businesses as well as add cost to the homeowner. Since sidewalks can’t be installed in the winter, the ordinance would force them as a third party to hold the money until the improvements became possible. They also warned that the ordinance could re-ignite the ire of Realtors previously annoyed by the Sewer Lateral Improvement Program, a system requiring the repair of sewer laterals upon selling property.
Throughout the public comment period, most individuals said they weren’t opposed at all to improving local sidewalks. However, they added they wanted to see a more targeted approach addressing key areas first. One method to accomplish this is the establishment of a local improvement district — an agreement between property owners in a specific area to share the costs of regional improvements over a set period of time.
According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee, the city successfully launched an LID to repair Boyer Avenue sidewalks from Chestnut to Ontario in 2006. However, subsequent LIDs have not moved forward due to difficulty raising sufficient public support.