I voted for Boise’s revised zoning code. Here’s why I decided to support it | Opinion

I’m a pro-family fiscal conservative. When my husband and I moved from eastern Idaho to the Treasure Valley, we bought our first home in Nampa. We were recent college graduates and parents to a baby girl. Five years later, the two-car commute to Boise was draining us financially, and we were missing out on valuable family time with two children under five. We decided to move as close to Boise as fiscally possible – to ease our commute and gain more time with our kids. We settled in West Boise, a stone’s throw from Meridian. That was 20 years ago.

The economy of today is different from the economy of 20 years ago. Drunken federal spending, massive inflation, interest rate hikes, the effects of slow home building from the Great Recession, plus thousands of new folks calling Idaho home have created a severe lack of housing supply. For many, the American Dream is alive and well — if you bought your home five years ago or sold a home in a higher-priced state.

I started last week’s hearing on Boise’s proposed planning and zoning code with skepticism. As a fiscal conservative, I know the best way to lower prices is to increase supply and deregulate government demands. But the proposed zoning code seemed heavy-handed in places, and incentives were tied to the wrong economic levers.

As the hearings continued, it became clear the proposed zoning code would pass without the changes I knew it needed. I had a decision: Do I vote “no” and risk a zoning code with few alterations? Or do I get involved with my fellow council members to see where we could agree? I chose to engage.

I worked with council members in good faith and, in the end, moved the code closer to my values as a conservative. It was important to vote with integrity based on the changes I requested.

Our current political environment does not reward compromise or collaboration. But it is essential to our democratic process. The approved zoning code now reduces red tape, allows more innovation, and — most of all — allows private property owners to invest in Boise families.

The Council compromised and agreed to significant changes, including lowering the time housing is set aside for affordable housing. Fifty years was too long; 20 years is far more reasonable. We decoupled energy incentives from affordability incentives — a much better free-market approach. We created larger transition zones from denser development to residential neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations receive more time to testify, and more notification is required for neighbors. We also deregulated areas for more innovation and less government control, including accessory dwelling units and parking.

I made it clear that many more areas need further compromise and discussion, including forced density in mixed zones and inviting those opposed to the rezone to the table. I’m not going to let those things go. I look forward to pushing for them every time the code is up for discussion.

Finally, the code is neither a panacea nor a coming apocalypse. I’m committed to continuing to be a common-sense voice for free-market changes. Home ownership is one of America’s greatest paths to financial stability, but if we define a home too narrowly, we limit this path to posterity. Allowing for more home choices within the city helps families live and work where they want, whether in Boise or other beautiful places in the Treasure Valley.