Boise Council approves zoning code edits, allows up to two tiny homes on wheels per lot with targeted exceptions

The Boise City Council on June 10 approved Zoning Ordinance Amendment COA 25-3, a package of more than 140 technical and policy edits to the city's zoning code that, among other changes, formalizes rules for tiny homes on wheels and directs staff to evaluate expanded accessory dwelling unit options.

The ordinance, introduced by city planning staff and carried by Council President Nash, passed on a roll-call vote after councilmembers debated several specific provisions. The council excluded proposed airport influence-area density changes and removed a figure and text addressing small multifamily building orientation, and it directed staff to allow up to two tiny homes on wheels per lot and to study permitting up to two ADUs per lot, including definitions for junior ADUs.

The amendments are billed by city planning staff as the first 'continuous improvement' round on the new zoning code adopted in December 2023. Diana Dupuy, a city planning staff presenter, told council the package responds to a year of implementation, public inquiries and interdepartmental review: "We had 996 applications...17,000 calls in our first year," Dupuy said, describing edits ranging from definitions and measurement rules to use-specific standards and procedural clarifications. The package adds tiny homes on wheels as an accessory use where ADUs are allowed, initially proposing one unit per site, under 400 square feet, with permanent utility connections and building-material standards.

Council discussion focused on several hot-button items: the airport influence-area overlay, hillside-related findings carried over from the prior code, consistency of impact language across sections, and a new illustration and standard for front-door orientation in small multifamily (duplex/tri/ fourplex) designs. Councilmember Corliss urged consistency in language that governs impacts on neighboring properties and asked staff to consider explicit timelines for adoption of revised findings; Corliss suggested a guardrail such as a 180-day expectation for returning revised findings to the council. Dupuy and Andrea Tuning, also a planning staff presenter, said many of the edits reflected agency comments (for example, airport and public works) and past direction from planning and zoning.

Public commenters attending the public hearing spoke in support of tiny homes on wheels. Jason Bosley, who participated in the pilot and lives in a tiny home, said the units "give an avenue for someone like me to have ownership, but also gives a lot of flexibility to the property owners themselves." Macy Miller, a long-time tiny-house advocate who participated in Boise-area efforts, told council, "City staff has done an amazing job" and urged adoption. Armin Toure, a resident physician who lives in a tiny house built during a LEAP Housing pilot, said the program helped him choose to train and consider staying in Boise to provide medical care.

Council President Nash moved approval of ZOA 25-3 with the additional edits recommended in the staff report and with explicit exceptions: exclude section 11-2-7.3(d) (airport influence-area overlay requirements) and exclude section 11-03-32(g)(7)(h) and figure 3.3 (provisions and illustration governing door orientation on small multifamily). The motion also directed staff to allow two tiny homes on wheels per lot, to evaluate permitting up to two ADUs per lot (including junior ADU definitions) in the next continuous-improvement cycle, and to seek consistent language on "material negative impact"/"adverse effect" findings across the code.

Clerk roll call recorded four affirmative votes: Morales, Nash, Stead and Corliss. The motion carried.

Why it matters: the amendments are an early test of how the city will refine its 2023 zoning code as practical issues surface. The tiny-home provisions formalize a pathway for a housing type promoted in pilots and by community groups; the council's direction to allow two units and to study expanded ADU allowances signals an intent to increase low-cost, small-scale housing options while keeping broader or more disruptive changes (airport-overlay density increases) for a later, more detailed review.

Implementation and next steps: staff will prepare the code language reflecting the council's exclusions and directives and return it for second- or subsequent-reading processing as required. Council also asked staff to develop clearer public engagement pathways and a zoning-code web page to explain continuous improvement updates and to prepare for a more extensive public process in fall 2025 ahead of the next revision cycle.

Votes at a glance: ZOA 25-3 (continuous-improvement zoning amendments) Motion: Approve ZOA 25-3 with staff-recommended edits, excluding airport influence-area overlay requirements (11-2-7.3(d)) and excluding duplex/tri/fourplex door-orientation language and figure (11-03-32(g)(7)(h) and figure 3.3); direct staff to allow two tiny homes on wheels per lot and to study up to two ADUs per lot and consistent impact-language edits. Mover: Council President Nash. Second: not specified on the record. Vote: Yes — Morales, Nash, Stead, Corliss. Outcome: approved.

Community context: Council and staff described extensive outreach during the first year of the new code'including Planning & Zoning hearings and agency comment'and emphasized that additional, topic-specific engagement (notably for airport-overlay mapping and noise contours) will follow before any larger policy changes are adopted.