Boise is rewriting their Zoning Code for the first time in more than 50 years. This process will significantly impact how the city of Boise grows. The new Zoning Code is shaped in part through resident feedback, so your participation is essential.
Currently, the City of Boise is seeking public input through a March 29th Community Conversation (online), an online survey, and the in-person meetings (see upcoming events).
The current public input process is on Module 2, which will shape how new development should look and feel across the city. When you submit your survey or attend the meetings, we encourage you to support the following important changes:
- Sustainable and Resilient Development: Efficiency upgrades like gray-water systems, xeriscaping, drought tolerant plants, LEED certifications, and solar arrays can all cut down our community’s water and/or energy use in ways that save money and increase resilience. The new code will incentivize builders to incorporate these improvements to benefit the local residents and the community.
- Alternative Transportation: As Boise grows, we need to transition to a multimodal transportation system, where people can also get around by walking, biking, and taking the bus. By decreasing parking minimums from two spaces to one, we can increase density, reduce the urban heat island effect, cut home prices (one spot adds about $5,000 to a housing project), and have more room for paths and open space.
- Access and Connectivity: To ensure the safety of the increasing numbers of Boiseans who are walking and biking to work, the new code adds a section that establishes standards for the safe location of driveways and the construction of new pathways to help pedestrians and bicyclists get around safely. Access to parks and greenspace around the City should also be considered.
- Smart Density: Improved density in a city makes it easier for residents to walk and bike within their community, lowers the cost of housing, and decreases a community’s overall emissions. Module 2 includes two important changes to increase density effectively. The first would allow for smaller minimum lot sizes, which would reduce sprawl and lower prices. The second would remove current arbitrary limits on density and allow city planners to make decisions based on what works best for a space.
- Infill: By utilizing existing infrastructure and filling in where we can, we reduce the threat of sprawl. Repurposing spaces to be more dense, built higher, and reimagined for a modern world, we can combat the city’s growth into undeveloped lands.
Survey Links and More Information:
To find out more about the Module 2 changes, you can check out the City of Boise Zoning Code Rewrite Page, read the Module 2 Executive Summary or watch city staff present to the Boise City Council.
Click here to participate in the survey: English, Spanish, and Technical Survey
Click here to sign up for the March 29th Webinar