We are developers of progressive housing projects who support Boise zoning code rewrite | Opinion
As realtors and developers committed to smart growth in the Treasure Valley, we enthusiastically support the zoning code rewrite undertaken by the city of Boise and set to come before City Council in mid-June.
Our design and build projects seek to create a sense of community and place, in contrast to the car-centric designed homes that exclude so many of our neighbors from housing options.
Right now, the zoning code makes it tough to create the kind of housing projects we like to build and that residents increasingly demand.
We are lifelong Treasure Valley residents, so we can empathize with our region’s growing pains. But the way we see it, we can either embrace growth and plan for it to keep our community special, or we can bury our heads in the sand and watch Boise sprawl into another Phoenix, Denver, or L.A., with compromised character, increasingly worse traffic, and more large expanses of parking lots.
The proposed zoning rewrite is a long overdue modernization of code that would allow innovative developers who want to build more affordable, unique options, to do so.
Many in Boise’s development community would love to see more housing options close to public transit and commuter trails, freeing up roadways and improving air quality and traffic congestion.
More affordable housing options would be made easier through the proposed zoning rewrite, including accessory dwelling units, single-occupancy apartments, and a ban on exclusive zoning that keeps certain kinds of people, such as young singles and renters, priced out.
Many Boiseans don’t need a 2,000-plus square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home all to ourselves, or huge lawns to take care of when we would rather be out enjoying what makes Boise so special.
The zoning rewrite will bring more of us closer to parks and nature and make it so more of us can walk or bike to work, shopping, and entertainment safely. It will foster a greater sense of belonging and connection in our neighborhoods.
Those are Boise values, and we’re proud to support them.
Please join us in emailing zoningrewrite@cityofboise.org or attending to testify in person starting June 12 at the scheduled public hearings at City Hall.