City council upholds Design Review approval for proposed mixed-use building at 1095 S. Federal Way

BOISE, Idaho — Boise City Council on Feb. 4 denied a neighborhood appeal and upheld the Design Review Commission's approval of a five-story mixed-use project proposed at 1095 South Federal Way, a 2.31-acre site in the MX-3 zone.

City planning staff described the proposal as a mixed-use building that steps down to four stories along Pico Street and reaches five stories along Federal Way, with podium and subterranean parking, detached sidewalks on all frontages and ground-floor active uses facing the streets. Rachel Farrell, senior planner, recommended the council deny the appeal, saying the Design Review Commission had sufficient findings under the city's design review code to approve the project.

The matter drew more than an hour of public testimony and substantive debate. Appellants led by resident Karen Moore of 1007 South Pico Street argued the building's height, scale and density are inconsistent with the surrounding Depot Bench neighborhood and would create adverse impacts including loss of sunlight, loss of privacy for adjacent yards, higher traffic volumes on Pico Street and light pollution. Moore said the neighborhood circulated a petition she said had 340 signatures backing a limit on height; she and other speakers urged a three-story limit on the Pico side and a lower-profile transition to single-family houses.

Jim Pickett, speaking for the Depot Bench Neighborhood Association, told council the parcel appears to have been upzoned in the code rewrite in a manner that misaligned with surrounding lots and asked that the council return the application to design review for more transition to the neighborhood.

Ethan Mansfield, representing applicant Hawkins Companies, said the parcel's MX-3 zoning sets the development rules and that the project was designed to comply with the modern zoning code and the Design Review Commission's findings. Mansfield said the building's highest parapet is about 59 feet, with a stair tower to about 64 feet, and that the team had reduced curb cuts and provided underground parking to limit surface parking and reduce neighborhood impacts. He also noted exceptions granted by the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) to limit turning movements onto Pico Street and described the project's frontage and active uses.

Council members and staff debated the correct scope of review. City staff and planning counsel noted that design review authority is limited by code and expressly precluded from requiring reductions in density or height where those elements are set by the zoning tables. Several council members said appeals tied to height and density therefore fall outside the Design Review Commission's permitted findings; they framed the issue as a zoning question that would be considered through a rezoning process rather than a design review appeal.

Council then voted on a motion to deny the appeal and uphold the Design Review Commission's decision. The roll call recorded the following votes: Doug: Yes; Willis: Yes; Horliss: Yes; Halliburton: Yes; Morales: Yes; Nash: Yes. The motion carried; the council's stated action preserves the DRC approval and the project may proceed under the conditions set by staff and DRC.

Notably, the record contains inconsistent unit counts: Farrell's staff presentation described the current design as containing 94 residential units, while the motion recorded at the meeting cited 194 units in its text. The council record and design-review exhibits supplied by staff should be consulted for the definitive unit count; the transcript shows both figures in different parts of the record.

What it means: Council's decision upholds the Design Review Commission's application of design standards to a project that the modern zoning code designates MX-3. Residents who oppose the project can pursue a rezoning request or other procedures provided by the development code; rezoning, rather than design review, is the channel for contesting allowed height and density under the current code.

Speakers at the hearing who are identified in the record include: Rachel Farrell (city planner); Josh Wilson (planning staff); appellant Karen Moore (resident, 1007 S. Pico St.); Ethan Mansfield (applicant, Hawkins Companies); Jim Pickett (Depot Bench Neighborhood Association); Victoria Purdy (resident, 1011 Pico St.); Hannah Kronbaugh (resident); Alexandra Monjoy (resident); Mayor Lauren McLean; and Council Member Jimmy Halliburton. Several other residents and parties of record submitted testimony or were listed as parties by the clerk.

The council's action leaves in place the DRC findings; any party seeking to change the site's allowed height or density would need to pursue a rezoning or code amendment through the city's established processes.