Boise reviews first year of modern zoning code; ADUs surge and annual amendment cycle proposed

City planning staff presented a one‑year review of Boise’s modern zoning code to the City Council and recommended an annual amendment and evaluation cycle alongside targeted technical fixes and policy reviews.

Deanna, planning staff presenting for Planning and Development Services, told the council the review covered the period Dec. 1, 2023, through Nov. 30, 2024. She said the department recorded nearly 1,000 planning applications and about 600 approved planning projects in that first full year, and noted about 17,000 front‑desk calls and more than 42,000 visits to the city’s new online development tracker.

Deanna said roughly 1,800 housing units were entitled in 2024, about 1,000 of them under the new zoning code. She said accessory dwelling units (ADUs) were a notable growth area: the city saw about a 13% increase in ADU approvals compared with the five‑year average. “ADUs kind of stole the show of the first year in the zoning code,” she said.

Staff reported other first‑year outcomes: 36% of planning approvals were administrative, over half went through the design review commission, and the city recorded nearly five miles of new sidewalk constructed through development. Deanna said 30 new day‑care facilities were approved (many as home occupations), roughly 1,200 new bicycle parking spaces were added in projects that required bike parking, and about 300,000 square feet of industrial space was permitted, roughly half tied to a Micron expansion.

On housing incentives, Deanna said it was too early to judge overall effectiveness: three projects had used affordability incentives and delivered three deed‑restricted units in the first year; more projects were in review. She said sustainability incentives had been applied by three projects that together generated 398 units because two were large multifamily developments. Staff said one large project had used an affordability incentive after the dataset referenced in the presentation was compiled and seven more incentive‑eligible projects were in review.

Council members asked for additional metrics. Council Member Corliss asked whether single‑family home projects might bypass planning review and therefore be undercounted; Deanna said many single‑family homes go directly to building permits and may not appear in planning tallies. Several council members asked for turnaround‑time data (from application to approval or building permit) and for comparisons with other cities; Deanna said staff are compiling those analyses and an evaluation with the Department of Organizational Effectiveness and an outside consultant is underway.

Deanna proposed a formal process for future edits: a yearly “continuous improvement” zoning ordinance amendment (ZOA) to fix technical issues and a schedule for topic‑based ZOAs (for example, incentives, airport influence area or conditional‑use permit appeals). She outlined a timeline to submit a first ZOA application in March, review by the Planning and Zoning Commission in May and council consideration in June. Council President Nash asked for a short period to review a redline of proposed technical edits before the city finalizes direction.

Council discussion touched on regulatory parity for duplexes/triplexes, barriers from homeowners associations or other policies that affect infill, preapproved ADU plans, and using design competitions to encourage neighborhood‑scale housing. Staff said an illustrated zoning code, an ADU preapproved plans project and a neighborhood‑scale housing design guide are in development.

The council did not take a formal vote during the briefing. Staff said they will return with evaluation findings, a dashboard of zoning metrics and proposed ZOAs on the schedule discussed.