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Staff outlines downtown core, FAR and preservation work; seeks public input and modeling support
Summary
Planning staff updated the commission on a downtown core/infill working group, digital‑modeling scenarios for height and floor‑area‑ratio (FAR) changes, and Historic Preservation Commission activities including a Garden District National Register nomination and a demolition‑review process.
Planning staff gave the commission a progress update on a downtown core and infill working group and on recent activity by the Historic Preservation Commission.
Staff said the working group — which includes planning commissioners, members of the Historic Preservation Commission, the Design Review Commission, downtown stakeholders and design professionals — has met 12 times since May and has been reviewing code, design guidelines and floor area ratio (FAR) bonuses. Council directed staff to evaluate height and FAR alternatives, to consider historic preservation goals for the main street core, and to model development scenarios and traffic impacts.
Staff described several technical steps already underway: creation of a base digital model (a ‘digital twin’) using GIS/Esri tools, coordination with the University of Idaho architecture program to create imagery and scenario visualizations, and an upcoming traffic‑modeling exercise with the regional MPO. Staff showed example massing images to illustrate how different height and FAR choices affect shadows and sight lines downtown, and said a key code question is which FAR bonuses to keep, remove or strengthen (staff noted few developers currently use some existing FAR bonuses and that a fee‑in‑lieu parking rate has not been updated in many years).
On historic preservation, staff reported a number of active items: the Garden District nomination to the National Register of Historic Places is nearly complete and will be forwarded to the National Park Service if the State Historic Preservation Office approves it; the commission has begun a demolition‑review process (photographic documentation, discussion with applicants and salvage of historically significant materials) and successfully salvaged vault doors from the Johnston Building; and staff and the Historic Preservation Commission are preparing outreach for National Historic Preservation Month in May.
Commissioners encouraged continued public and stakeholder engagement and suggested the working group consider whether separate, simpler downtown zoning districts would be easier to administer than the current overlay structure. Staff said next steps include refining scenario boundaries, testing parking and FAR alternatives with traffic and utilities modeling, updating fee‑in‑lieu calculations, and preparing draft code and design‑guideline language for additional public review and eventual commission and council consideration. The Historic Preservation Commission requested a joint workshop with Planning and Zoning in March to explore preservation overlay options and related code changes.
Staff also noted that longtime associate planner Mike Berry will retire next week; staff said the department will lean more on the University of Idaho and consultant support for the modeling work moving forward.
