Government at Work

I witnessed government at work last night. After seeing the plan denied once and tabled a second time by the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission, I got to watch the Sandpoint City Council embrace an out-of-town developer's proposal to turn what was once part of our family farm into an "affordable housing" subdivision.

What we once called "the Upper Place" has been welcomed into the City of Sandpoint, thanks to City Council's 3-2 vote to annex the 21 acres. It was unclear, as one dissenting council person said, how it could be considered "affordable housing" when the 28 lots are priced at $45,000 apiece. They'll have single dwelling homes selling for $160,000-$220,000. At least, these were the prices vaguely tossed around.

One City Council member even asked the City Attorney if the selling price included both the lot price and the housing price. Without one mention of a yes or no, the attorney went into a discussion about the wetlands. I was a bit confused because this didn't really answer the question. Guess I should have been listening more closely.

I also found it extremely interesting as the city's attorney served as a blatantly-open advocate for the developer, skillfully portraying the dissenting neighbors as enemies looking down their noses at the proposed development and as naughty school children who should have done their homework before purchasing what they thought were nice homes in a "rural" atmosphere.

It's always fun to watch the way government stacks the deck when the promise of dollars is involved. Sandpoint at its best!

While watching the city government in action, I couldn't help but wonder what was happening at the Community Hall where, at the same time, a town meeting dealing with a Gem Community survey was occurring.

Many citizens who had, the night before, strongly voiced their opposition to the City relaxing building height rules for Sandpoint were planning to attend the Community Hall gathering. Its purpose was to Imagine Sandpoint in the future. Seems strange to me these meetings occurred at the same time.

Enough said.