Boise council advances package of zoning policy updates on ADUs, incentives, EV and bike parking, and airport overlay

Boise Mayor MacLean and the City Council heard a detailed presentation from Planning and Development Services staff on a package of zoning policy changes staff said are intended to advance housing supply, sustainability, and predictable implementation.

Maureen (Director Brewer), presenting the proposals, said the package pairs roughly 49 technical edits with six substantive policy items. Among the policy changes, staff recommended removing a universal EV-charging mandate and instead requiring EV-ready spaces only for housing projects that opt into the sustainability incentives: projects with more than 20 parking spaces that use the incentives would need 5% of spaces to be EV-ready. "We're recommending removing the EV requirement for all development and instead including an EV parking requirement through the incentives," Maureen said.

On bike parking, staff proposed three principal changes: introduce an alternative-compliance review allowing the planning director flexibility on bike-parking location or design (including scooters and micro-mobility), allow encroachments consistent with other site features rather than categorically forbidding enclosures in setbacks, and reduce the required number of bike spaces to one per unit. Maureen said the intent is to preserve mobility goals while reducing what developers and staff called onerous implementation barriers.

For accessory dwelling units, staff recommended allowing a second kitchen within the same unit so a junior ADU would not automatically be treated as a separate unit that triggers additional building-code requirements such as a fire separation wall. Staff also proposed permitting up to two accessory residential units on a single-family lot, including combinations of ADUs and tiny homes on wheels. Maureen warned staff will need to reconcile parity across housing types (single-family with two ADUs, duplex, triplex, etc.) and may return with refinements addressing infrastructure, lot size, parking and interactions with neighborhood incentive rules.

The incentives package itself would become simpler and more flexible: a menu of developer-selectable incentives, a shift in affordability targeting from 60% of area median income to 80% AMI, a reduction in the share of required affordable units from 25% to 10% in incentivized projects, and an extension of the affordability period from 20 years to 50 years. Maureen said the changes respond to developer feedback about financial feasibility, while preserving an expanded menu of options intended to encourage both affordable and sustainable housing.

The airport-influence-area B1 overlay drew some of the strongest pushback. Staff proposed removing the conditional-use-permit requirement for additional density within the overlay so that, outside the noise contour, residential densities up to 25 units per acre could be permitted by right, while limiting density to 5 units per acre inside the noise contour. Maureen cited recent cases where requests reached 26 units per acre and another CUP inside the noise contour sought up to seven units per acre. "Instead of a CUP, staff are recommending permitting by-right residential densities of up to 25 units per acre in areas outside the noise contour," she said. Several council members asked for more technical analysis and broader public input, noting noise-contour mapping does not necessarily reflect future airport growth or operational safety considerations.

Council members broadly supported advancing the proposal to public hearing with additional outreach and technical detail on the airport overlay and on the 50-year deed restriction change. The mayor directed staff to use maximum practicable flexibility for current EV and bike-parking applications while the ordinance amendment proceeds through planning and notice requirements. No formal vote was taken at the work session; staff will file the zoning-ordinance-amendment application and seek Planning and Zoning Commission review before returning to council in March for a public hearing and consideration.

Council and staff said they will monitor implementation effects—particularly bike parking in multifamily housing and the feasibility of achieving affordable units tied to incentives—and return with refinements as needed.