BOISE. IDAHO — After several days of public testimony, Boise's City Council approved a new ordinance revamping the city's zoning code It's the first time in 50 years that the council has approved a major rewrite of Boise's zoning code.
Mayoral Candidate Mike Masterson released a statement on June 17, where he was critical of the upzoning rewrite process so far, saying "It took years to write this new, extremely long and complex code, but only three months were afforded to the community to consider it and very little of the community was engaged."
Masterson was also critical of the McLean-appointed city council members who, he claims, moved too quickly on the zoning changes.
"Rezoning is not a yes or no question, and it shouldn't have been done quickly," said Masterson, "it should have been done right."
As expected, many have voiced their thoughts on the proposed modern zoning code approval. We asked the public in downtown Boise to share their thoughts about the approval.
RELATED | Boise City Council Passes Modern Zoning Code Rewrite
"What concerns me the most is that we are going to have a mixture of high-rises among single-family homes, and that's not the Boise we want," said Jerron Moore, from Boise.
The community group Reject Boise Upzone has been vocal about its opposition to the modern zoning and tells the Idaho News 6 team they are sad about the outcome, despite the amount of public opposition to the rezoning.
RELATED | Residents rally at City Hall to oppose the Boise upzone
The modern zoning code's goal is to address the need for housing. Some are telling us they are all for the rezone if it means preventing developments in neighboring cities.
"I'm excited about the opportunity for Boise to grow more vertically and densely and stop some of the spread," said Sue Philley, from Garden City.
Numerous businesses in Downtown Boise mentioned they didn’t know much about the modern rezone approval and were just going to wait and see how it would impact them.
