Boise City Council to hold public hearings on zoning code change this week

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) A decision on a major overhaul to Boise's zoning code could be made this week. This is the last step. Planning and zoning already gave its green light on the proposed plan this spring.

A decision on a major overhaul to Boise's zoning code could be made this week. This is the last step. Planning and zoning already gave its green light on the proposed plan this spring.

More than 1,500 people in Boise have weighed in already on the zoning code rewrite via written comment. As of Monday morning, 129 people are signed up to testify Tuesday and Wednesday.

Staff and neighborhood associations are presenting to city council Tuesday evening.

The years long process in Boise to rewrite the city's zoning code, which has gone without major changes since the 1960s is finishing up. The goal, in part, is to create more affordable housing.

"I'm not one to say that this is going to solve the affordability. That's just not, there's so many factors going into it. I think this is a first step within affordability," said Nina Schaeffer, a member of the Neighbors for Boise group.

It's also intended to protect open spaces and pave the way for more transportation options.

"[There's] too much for the development community without really extracting anything for the taxpayers in return. We're not guaranteed affordable housing. We don't have guaranteed transit funding," said Dave Kangas, a real estate agent who lives in the Vista neighborhood. Kangas is part of the Reject Boise Upzone group.

It's a contentious issue for some Boise homeowners.

"It is tearing the city apart," Kangas said. "I was supportive of the city wanting to rewrite their zoning code, but they chose to include massive land use changes at the same time and come out with one horrendous, complicated document."

The zoning plan would encourage more units, different types of housing, while also allowing for more mixed-use districts -- so development along transit corridors could be denser and include both housing and retail space.

The new plan would allow developers to increase the number of units allowed on a residential piece of land if they designate a portion as affordable.

For example, in the R-1A, R-1B, and R-1C zoning districts, at least one unit in a triplex, or at least two in a fourplex would need to be income-restricted affordable for at least 50 years for families earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income if the housing is a rental, or affordable to households earning no more than 120 percent of the area median income if it's is a for-sale property.

Boise's median income for a household of four is $98,300.

"You don't often see someone going, 'I don't want that single-family home built here.' You see that with a duplex or above, and it's just important to realize like no matter what, that's going to be someone's home, and it's important that we can help make that easier," Schaeffer said.

"This whole neighborhood can qualify for incentives. That's just going to change the whole makeup of the neighborhood over time," Kangas said.

The housing, if it's to be eligible for incentives, would also have to follow criteria for resilience and sustainability.

"When they start to tell the developer how they're going to be able to build their house, plumbing, the heating and cooling, and sign on for low-income, I don't know how often that's going to be taken advantage of because the developers I know will say, well what's the path of least resistance?" Kangas said.

Some applications wouldn't need public hearings.

"Once this passes, you don't have much choice or say in what happens next door to you or behind you, and that's a concern," Kangas said.

"I think there's definitely some streamline within that process," Schaeffer said. "If there's someone who wants to do a four-plex or something on their land... the city is really interested in being a support system in that and really making sure that if that's something that someone wants to do with their land, they can help make it happen."

People can still sign up to testify until Tuesday at 10 a.m. and noon on Wednesday.

Tuesday, public testimony starts at 2 p.m. Then another round of testimony on Wednesday before a decision from the council is expected Thursday night.

The full reserved hearing schedule is outlined below and will happen at City Hall in the Maryanne Jordan Council Chambers.

  • Monday, June 12, 4-9 p.m. - Presentation from staff and neighborhood associations. Dinner break at 6-6:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, June 13, 2-6 p.m. - Public testimony. Break at 4-4:15 p.m.
  • Wednesday, June 14, 4-9 p.m. - Public testimony. Dinner break at 6-6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, June 15, 4-9 p.m. - Q&A, rebuttal, deliberations and decision. Dinner break at 6-6:30 p.m.

Check the public meetings webpage for updates to the schedule.

The hearings will be available through a live stream on the City of Boise Public Meetings YouTube Channel.

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