Zoning & Subdivision Ordinance Rewrite

The City of Boise is the largest city in the State of Idaho, with a population of 235,000, as well as the state’s capital city. In 2019 Boise retained Clarion Associates and Kushlan Associates to prepare a new zoning ordinance to help further implementation of the Blueprint Boise Comprehensive Plan, specifically focusing on the following three themes:  Lasting Environments, Innovative Enterprises, and Vibrant Communities. Throughout the years long process, the project team listened to feedback at community conversations, open houses, through surveys and stakeholder meetings, and one-on-one conversations with underrepresented community members about the future of development in Boise. Boise’s new code prioritizes: 

• A wider variety of housing types to meet the needs and budgets of all residents; 

• Preserving key areas of undeveloped open space; 

• Providing more mobility and transportation options throughout the city; 

• Ensuring that new development reinforces the desired fabric of each area of the city; and 

• Accommodating inevitable growth in more sustainable and predictable ways. 

Following the successful adoption of the zoning code in 2023, Clarion Associates worked with staff to create a development review checklist that walked through each section of the code to help staff get a better understanding of the newly organized and updated code and simplify administration.