Clash Between Ideals and Realities in Boise

For one, a proposed Whole Foods that a developer has been trying to get built since 2006 was again rejected for not meeting the goals of the Comprehensive Plan:

"Staff members of the Capital City Development Corp., the city's urban renewal agency, told its board Tuesday that the proposal 'did not reflect the higher density vision' of Downtown."

Some locals are upset that the visions of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Design Review Commission are holding up construction:

"'In my opinion, if somebody offers to give you a $100 million anything, you graciously and thankfully accept it and let the benefactors design it as they wish,' wrote Parma resident Carol A. Vande Voorde in a letter to the editor in December..."

Thanks to Jon Cecil, AICP