“Slap in the face”: Neighbors speak up about apartments. Ada County weighed in
The Treasure Valley has been facing a housing shortage, with skyrocketing rents over the last few years and increasing homelessness. So Ada County’s planning staff recommended that the county allow duplexes, apartments and townhomes in more areas as part of a new zoning code rewrite.
Then the feedback came in: “Allowing multifamily as a conditional use is a slap in the face to the residents already residing in Ada County,” wrote several people in emails and messages to the county.
“This proposal to allow multi-family housing as a conditional use is an affront to the residents who have relied on the integrity of zoning regulations to preserve the character and potential of our neighborhoods,” said one resident who lives southwest of the Boise Airport.
Such conversations have been par for the course in recent years, as Treasure Valley residents debate the best way to respond to growth. In Boise, for example, officials led a zoning code rewrite in 2023 that prioritized more density, transit and mixing of different types of development. But county officials, who oversee development in unincorporated areas outside cities, don’t have the same priorities.
County planning staff members had proposed allowing multifamily, typically apartments, in commercial districts. The homes would still be a conditional use, meaning the projects would still require a public hearing.
They also proposed allowing townhomes in one of the least-dense residential districts and duplexes in several rural and less-dense zoning districts.
But after the public outcry, the Ada County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that all of those new housing options be taken out.
The county commissioners agreed with P&Z’s proposal to bar multifamily in commercial areas, which would have allowed mixed-use projects that brought together housing and businesses. Going forward, developers will have to win commissioners’ approval to change a site’s zoning to create housing in a commercial district.
But two of the three county commissioners tentatively decided to keep townhome and duplex options available in more areas.
“I think that’s a little overboard,” Commissioner Rod Beck said, later adding that townhomes were single-family homes. “We certainly need room for more housing.”
Commissioner Tom Dayley objected, saying that even though townhomes are single-family, they still didn’t fit into existing neighborhoods. “It goes to the character and style of the entity itself,” Dayley said.
The final version of the zoning code rewrite is scheduled to be back in front of the commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 14.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
