NEWS
City to host open house on Comp Plan, Multimodal Transportation Master Plan By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Residents who want to put in their two cents regarding the city’s ongoing update to its Comprehensive Plan will have their chance Thursday, April 27 at an open house hosted from 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room B of the East Bonner County Library’s Sandpoint branch (1407 Cedar St.). The full draft Comp Plan can be reviewed and commented upon digitally at plan.konveio.com/sandpoint-draft-comprehensive-plan, and is open for public comment through Sunday, May 7. In-person attendees are invited to drop in to the open house at any time during the April 27 event. The 132-page draft document is intended to serve as “our community’s plan for the physical development of Sandpoint” and “guide Sandpoint’s development and growth patterns for the next 20 years,” according to the introduction. Sandpoint last updated its Comp Plan in 2009 and amended it in 2019. The update had been underway in 2019, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. As conditions have gradually stabilized following the easing and eventual end of virus-related restrictions, the city has completed and refined a wide range of studies and master plans intended to inform the larger Comp Plan effort, which establishes goals and objectives guiding land use regulations — including zoning — strategic plans and the city budget. In addition to providing a roadmap for Sandpoint’s growth and development, the Comp Plan also covers the area of city impact, which encompasses approximately 12 square miles southwest to Dover, west to base of the Selkirk Mountains and northeast to the Ponderay city limits. The ACI designates land outside the city limits that may be annexed in the future, and therefore should be considered in the long-range Comp Plan. Also at the April 27 open house, the city will feature the Multimodal Transportation Master Plan, including a proposed amendment to the long-term “East-West Connection” concept, which envisions 6 / R / April 13, 2023
a number of potential roadway realignments, intersection and signal changes, and altered drive lane directions on U.S. Highway 2, North Ella Avenue, North and South Boyer avenues, Fifth Avenue and Cedar Street, Pine Street, First Avenue and Superior Street. Specifically, the City Council will consider amending the concept at its regular Wednesday, May 3 meeting to include an access point off U.S. 2 to South Boyer Avenue in order to provide a north-south connection across the highway. However, that route would run directly through the property occupied by Dub’s DriveIn, which the city voted to acquire for $380,000 in February. In the meantime, current owners Marty and Jeralyn Mire are leasing the property back from the city and subleasing it to new owners, who will operate the business at its present location until such time as the city needs to use the property. The East-West Connection concept is sometimes referred to as “the Couplet,” because it includes a new highway alignment connecting U.S. 2 directly to the intersection of Fifth and Cedar via two one-way southbound lanes traveling along the Sandpoint-Dover pathway and funneling into a new intersection east of North Boyer and Pine. That part of the concept has riled many community members, resulting in months of sometimes heated debate about the scale — or even necessity — of many of the potential changes. Only the amendment related to U.S. 2 access on South Boyer Avenue will be under consideration May 3 by the City Council, though the full Multimodal Transportation Master Plan — which was adopted in May 2021 — can be viewed at sandpointidaho.gov by clicking on the “Master Plans” button on the left side of the webpage. To view a map of the area subject to the proposed amendment (identified as Fig. 23), as well as other figures representing the East-West Connection concept, look under Appendix A “Networks, Corridors and Improvement Concepts” of the master plan, directly accessible at bit. ly/3ZYzMA4. Meanwhile, email comments to multimodal@sandpointidaho.gov.
Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling: Due to tax loopholes, the nation’s richest 0.5% could transfer $21 trillion to heirs over the next two decades — virtually tax free, according to Americans for Tax Fairness, representing an historic level of untaxed wealth. The loopholes amount to as much as $8.4 trillion in lost tax revenue that could otherwise reduce the deficit. Sen. Bernie Sanders fronted the For the 99.5% Act, which would raise $430 billion over 10 years by lowering the estate tax exemption rate from $12 million to $3.5 million. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s plan would raise $218 billion from taxes on large estates. According to an AP-NORC poll, 60% of Americans feel the federal government spends too much. However, they want more spending for education, health care, Social Security, Medicare, border security and the military. House Republicans’ refusal to raise the debt ceiling could trigger Americans losing $20,000 of their retirement savings, according to a report from the congressional Joint Economic Committee. The JEC based its findings on a study of debt limit negotiations from 2011. The nation is currently using “extraordinary measures” to pay incurred debts, but that is expected to end in July. Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit filed by a Venezuelan businessman, who said Fox made false claims about him and the 2020 election, according to CNN. Fox still faces other similar lawsuits. After months of family separation, 31 Ukrainian children taken to Russia were recently reunited with family, CNN reported. Ukraine estimates 20,000 of their children have been taken by Russians. A February report from Ukraine alleges children taken to Russia have endured “political re-education,” and even military training. Russia denies wrongdoing, claiming it removed Ukrainian children to safety. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting luxury gifts for 20 years from a real estate billionaire, ProPublica reported. The extent of the largesse has no known precedent in the Supreme Court’s modern history. People “shouldn’t have to wonder whether their judge — or a Supreme Court justice — is looking out for wealthy donors instead of rule of law,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren stated. Warren has proposed the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act. If approved, the act would include a ban on federal judges
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist
owning individual stocks, strengthen gift restrictions, extend the Code of Conduct to cover the Supreme Court, stop the sealing of court records urged by corporations (which may hide injuries to citizens), and close loopholes that let judges retire to escape accountability. In response to the possibility that a Texas judge might rule that the FDA should remove mifepristone — an abortion medication with additional uses — Washington state recently purchased a three-year supply. According to a news release from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, the use of mifepristone has had fewer serious side effects and deaths as compared to common drugs like Tylenol and Viagra. Shortly after the purchase, the Texas judge did overrule the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone. On the heels of that, a Washington judge issued a decision to protect the availability of mifepristone. The drug is also used to aid the safe evacuation of miscarriages, thus avoiding potentially lethal infections. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee voted to expel two Black Democrat lawmakers after they used a bullhorn to participate in a gun reform rally inside the state capitol. The rally drew thousands of students in response to the recent Nashville private school shooting that killed six. Republicans claimed the expelled legislators were trying to incite a riot, and said what occurred was “maybe worse” than the insurrection at the nation’s capitol. Media noted that banishing lawmakers is usually reserved for “serious misconduct,” not for breaking House rules, and that the ousted men were not accused of criminal wrongdoing. A third lawmaker — a white former teacher — was not expelled. According to Axios, the Nashville Metro Council voted unanimously to reinstate one lawmaker, who was quickly re-sworn in, and a vote on the second lawmaker will occur this week. Pew Research reported that children and teen deaths from guns rose 50% between 2019 and 2021, going from 1,732 deaths to 2,590. Blast from the past: In 1873, Connecticut sisters Julia and Abby Smith — both in their 70s — took to heart the phrase “no taxation without representation.” Since being female gave them no right to vote, they did not pay their taxes. The town of Glastonbury took away their cows. After the press followed the story, the sisters were sent enough money to start an equal-suffrage fund.