Boise council approves R-2 rezone at Highland Street with 189-unit cap and $30,000 traffic fund

The Boise City Council voted 3–2 to approve CAR 24-06, rezoning roughly 5.7 acres at 1519 South Londoner/Highland Street from R-1C (Residential Traditional) to R-2 (Residential) to allow a proposed mixed-use, three-story multifamily project. The motion included council direction to continue investigating traffic calming during design review, a requirement that the applicant deposit up to $30,000 in a trust for traffic-calming measures identified by ACHD, and a condition that the project not exceed 189 dwelling units.

Supporters and the applicant argued the site is appropriate for denser infill because it is adjacent to higher-density uses and near major travel corridors. Planning staff and the applicant noted prior direction from the Planning and Zoning Commission and said the R-2 zone and form-based standards would govern building form, setbacks and landscape requirements. “This plan that we have presented to you tonight ... is what we're committed to,” said Doug Russell, representing the applicant Land Group.

Opponents — including many neighborhood residents and the Southeast Neighborhood Association — urged council to retain the existing R-1C zoning or to tie any rezone to a specific site plan. Speakers raised traffic, parking spillover, pedestrian safety, tree preservation, privacy and the loss of single-family character. Eric Berg, representing the neighborhood group, said, “R2 no longer fits compact zoning, but rather high density,” arguing that rezoning without binding project limits risks future developments that exceed community expectations.

The council and staff discussed how the modern zoning code’s form-based standards (height, setbacks, landscaping and parking) limit achievable density even where the R-2 zone does not list a numeric cap. Planning staff said those site and form standards, together with design review, provide constraints on what can be built. ACHD representative Edison Bautista said the Highland segment is in the agency’s long-range bicycle network and that specific treatments would be evaluated as project planning continues.

The vote followed nearly four hours of public testimony, most of it opposed. Council members Halliburton, Nash and Stead voted in favor; Council members Willard and Carlos voted no. The council’s approval sends the project to the city’s design review process, where elevations, landscape, parking and final street improvements will be reviewed. The applicant committed to working with ACHD and the city on traffic-calming options and to placing funds in trust while the specific measures are determined.

Council direction and next steps: the council asked staff and the applicant to pursue traffic-calming design work in coordination with ACHD as part of design review; the $30,000 trust is to cover speed signs or other calming devices ACHD and the city identify; and the council attached a 189-unit cap as a condition of approval. Design review will determine final building form and whether changes to the conceptual plan are required.

Votes at a glance: Halliburton — yes; Nash — yes; Stead — yes; Willard — no; Carlos — no. Outcome: approved, with conditions.