Boise’s New Zoning Code Cleared for City Council Approval

The Boise Planning Commission approved the first major rewrite of the city’s zoning code in 60 years last week, setting the stage for the Boise City Council to consider the new zoning code in June.

“The code updates allow for greater housing density and flexibility, expanding mixed residential and commercial zones into more areas of the city,” according to an article by Troy Oppie, which broke the news of the commission vote.

In an article published earlier in April, Planetizen Editor Diana Ionescu described the listed the priorities of the zoning code rewrite as a “more sustainable, equitable, and affordable.” To achieve those lofty goals, the code changes regulations on everything from building heights, parking requirements, neighborhood markets, lot sizes, transit-oriented development, and mixed-use development.

A few controversies arose during the 20 hours of hearings the commission devoted to study of the new zoning code, according to Oppie, including concerns about reduced parking requirements and the perception that new multi-family residential developments would pose a risk to the existing character of residential neighborhoods.

According to Oppie, some of the code’s new allowances for density, in the form of those parking reforms and multi-family zoning, were crafted deliberately in response to Idaho’s state preemption of inclusionary zoning. “Because state law prohibits cities from requiring housing units be below market rate, part of what’s known as ‘inclusionary zoning,’ the city chose to incentivize certain practices in the code,” explains Oppie.

“The code rewrite has been in progress since 2020, with dozens of open houses and hearings and thousands of public comments and survey responses gathered at different stages of development,” adds Oppie for background on the path that brought the city to the brink of a new zoning code. Tim Keane, the city’s planning director, announced in July 2022 that the zoning rewrite would target changes along major corridors, rather than achieving citywide changes, in response to feedback from residents.

The entire Boise Modern Zoning Code Project Report can be read at the city of Boise’s website.