FORM LETTER | RejectBoiseUpZone

Below is an example letter that could be submitted for comments about the Zoninig Code Rewrite. Feel free to copy and paste this into your own letter and add additional concerns you may have with the proposed upzone. Email this letter to those listed below.

Alternatively, you can download the letter in Word format here:

TODAY’S DATE

To: mayormclean@cityofboise.org, citycouncil@cityofboise.org, tkeane@cityofboise.org, zoninginfo@cityofboise.org, zoningrewrite@cityofboise.org

Re: Zoning Code Rewrite Public Comment for ZOA23-00001 & CPA23-00001

Dear Mayor, City Council, and Planning and Zoning Commission:

The public has not been given adequate time to read, analyze, and comment meaningfully on the 611 page Zoning Code Rewrite, which are an almost complete replacement of the laws that, for the last half century, have established Boise as a highly desirable place to call home.

The City of Boise is allowing only three weeks to submit comments by the March 22 deadline – the date that must be met for public testimony to be included in the Project Report. The Project Report will contain the staff analysis, and be provided to the Planning and Zoning Commission for their review well-ahead of the later public hearings. In an incredibly complex rule-change, it is imperative that the public is able to have their comments included in the Zoning Code Rewrite Project Report.

After all, the City only released its final version of its Zoning Code Rewrite on February 28, 2023 – a document that does not show the numerous changes from the last draft released in October of 2022. This timeline has even put citizens that have carefully followed the process at an extraordinary disadvantage.

Federal guidelines call for up to 180 days of public comment for rule changes that may have a large impact. The proposed changes to the Zoning Code Rewrite may lead to the most significant impacts many Boise residents will ever experience near their homes – rules that range from new allowances for alcohol serving commercial establishments within residential zoning districts, for tall apartment buildings next to single family homes, and even landfills within city limits.

Given the enormity of the decision coming before the Planning and Zoning Commission on the week of April 23, it is essential that these volunteer public servants are able to consider written testimony for more than a few days over the weekend. Nonetheless, that is all the time they will have for those public comments that simply cannot be meaningfully submitted by the extremely short deadline of March 22.