Boise zoning rewrite preserves neighborhood character, advances fiscal responsibility | Opinion
Four generations of my family have called Boise home. In the 1950s, my father grew up in a duplex right next door to his grandmother in Boise’s North End. He and his sister could walk or bike to the library, the movie theater and their neighborhood corner store. However, by the 1980s, when I was growing up in West Boise, neighborhood developments like that were literally outlawed by our current 1960s-era zoning code.
It’s past time to update our city’s zoning code to protect our safety, access to the outdoors and the community spirit that make Boise such a wonderful place for all of our family members to build and live fulfilling lives.
Most Boiseans feel strongly about preserving and protecting that quality of life. We also agree that we want our local governments to be fiscally responsible with our tax dollars, especially as inflation has tightened budgets for many working folks and seniors on fixed incomes who live in our community.
I’m supporting Boise’s updated zoning code because it protects the quality of life in our neighborhoods and represents the smart stewardship of our tax dollars.
The modernization of our zoning code cuts bureaucratic red tape while preserving neighborhood character, walkability and accessibility to parks, pathways, local businesses and schools. It allows our city to manage inevitable growth in a way that reduces costs to local taxpayers, who are already burdened by the legislature’s inability to reform our property tax policies.
Boiseans have seen how the endless sprawl into farmland and the Foothills not only degrades our quality of life, it adds to the burden on taxpayers’ pocketbooks as we are forced to provide more police, fire and other services to residents in far-flung areas.
By promoting modest, thoughtful development solutions like granny flats, cottage courts and “missing middle” housing, Boise can create the housing needed for all generations in our community while avoiding the expensive development choices of other cities.
Let’s create the kinds of neighborhoods where young and old can gather, recreate and work. Please join me in supporting Boise’s modern zoning code when it comes before the Boise City Council June 12-14.
This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 10:52 AM.