Boise City Council reviews draft historic preservation plan; public open houses set for late July

Planning staff presented a draft update to Boise's historic preservation plan and outlined public engagement planned for late July.

Jesse Lau of Planning and Development Services told the council the current preservation plan was adopted in 1979 and said the June draft — prepared with consultant Northwest Vernacular — reflects nearly 50 years of change. "The existing historic preservation plan was adopted in 1979 and is almost historic itself," Lau said.

Lau described the process to date: consultant research and data collection starting in late 2025, a public survey and targeted meetings with neighborhood associations, developers and preservation professionals. He said the public survey ran through June and the draft appendix includes the 562 responses received; two in-person open houses are scheduled at the end of July (one at a library at Colon Ustick on July 28 and another at the Boise Depot on July 29), and a digital copy of boards and a comment box are available on the city's website.

The consultant's initial SWOT analysis, Lau said, identified strengths such as qualified city staff and 12 locally designated historic districts, and noted weaknesses including a confusing historic-preservation ordinance, limited demolition-by-neglect enforcement and few designated properties on the city's south side. Recommendations in the draft cluster around four goals: strengthening city planning and the preservation program, promoting stewardship of historic properties, creating incentives to help owners maintain buildings, and broadening public outreach and education.

Council members asked whether the draft addresses practical disputes (for example, where homeowners were told to replace newly installed windows that were later deemed nonconforming) and how the plan balances historic integrity with energy-efficiency measures. Lau said the plan is primarily a guiding document of vision and recommendations; specific policy or code changes would come later for council consideration. He also said the draft includes recommendations on working with Parks on tree inventories and noted the plan already allows some solar panels in historic districts while suggesting ways to better incorporate sustainability goals.

The council discussed outreach locations and asked staff to consider holding an additional session closer to established historic districts. Lau said a historic-preservation subcommittee will work with the consultants and that a final draft will go to the Historic Preservation Commission in September for a public hearing and recommendation, followed by a council public hearing and potential adoption later this year.

After the preservation update, a council member moved to enter executive session to consult with legal counsel on labor negotiations under Idaho law.