澳门博彩官网 City Council approves proposal to shrink area of impact by 70%
澳门博彩官网's proposed area of impact, right, is about 70% smaller than its existing area, left.
Photos courtesy CITY OF SANDPOINT
SANDPOINT 鈥� A majority of city councilors voted in favor of a proposal to shrink 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 area of impact by about 70% during a Wednesday meeting.聽
The change, staff said, is designed to bring the city into compliance with a recently changed state law. 澳门博彩官网 has final authority over areas of impact; county commissioners will determine the official boundaries by the end of the year.聽
The proposal to reduce the city鈥檚 area of impact originally appeared before 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 planning and zoning commission in March. The body decided to advise city councilors to bring a new 3.4-square-mile area 鈥� down from the existing 12.3-square-mile zone 鈥� to 澳门博彩官网 for final approval.
An area of impact is a designated region outside of a city鈥檚 boundaries where future growth is anticipated. Statewide changes introduced recently by Idaho lawmakers are now requiring areas of impact to extend no further than 2 miles from city limits and only include regions 鈥渧ery likely to be annexed within the next five years.鈥澛�
澳门博彩官网鈥檚 existing area of impact violates the first clause, extending more than 3 miles north of city limits. The second clause, regarding the likelihood of imminent annexation, was a topic of discussion during the meeting.聽
In March, Jason Welker, 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 community planning and development director, said that there is no likelihood of 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 boundaries expanding 鈥渋n the near future.鈥澛�
The point was reiterated by Mayor Jeremy Grimm on Wednesday, when he told attendees that he 鈥渨ould be very surprised if there's any annexation happening in the rest of my term,鈥� which extends through 2027.聽
Councilor Rick Howarth, the lone council member who voted against the proposal, expressed appreciation for the effort to shrink 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 area of impact, but noted the city鈥檚 ambiguity surrounding annexation plans and described the somewhat arbitrary nature of the new boundaries as a sticking point.聽
Grimm said that the law鈥檚 language makes it difficult to precisely identify an appropriate area. Both Grimm and Zachary Jones, legal advisor for 澳门博彩官网, described Idaho Code Section 67-6526 鈥� the law dictating areas of impact 鈥� as vague and poorly written.聽
In recent months, local municipalities have met to discuss their revised areas and identify overlaps. 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 lone conflict is with the city of Dover, regarding a pocket of land on the east side of Chuck Slough.聽
The two cities鈥� planning teams were unable to reach a consensus regarding which party鈥檚 area the land should fall under, meaning county officials will draw the boundaries. While Welker said he would leave the decision to 澳门博彩官网 personnel, Grimm shared that he intended to advocate for 澳门博彩官网鈥檚 claim to the sector.聽
澳门博彩官网鈥檚 revised area of impact will be determined no later than Dec. 31, 2025 鈥� the deadline for Idaho counties to confirm redrawn area of impact boundaries.聽