Comprehensive Planning
The Comprehensive Planning division provides the City with long-range planning and policy analysis through the preparation, maintenance and administration of the Comprehensive Plan. Comp Planning also conducts special planning studies as requested by the City Council, and sits on a wide variety of boards and committees. The Comp. Planning division participates with the Community Planning Association (COMPASS), Ada County Highway District, Idaho Transportation District, the Division of Environmental Quality, Chamber of Commerce, school districts and others in preparing demographic projections, traffic studies and other analysis.
What is Blueprint Boise?
Boise’s existing Comprehensive Plan encompasses a broad range of detailed policies, objectives and strategies in accordance with Idaho State Statutes. Although many of the policies contained in the Plan remain valid, most communities revisit and update their comprehensive plan every five to seven years to ensure it continues to meet the community’s vision and goals for the future. The City's effort to update and modernize development regulations is called Blueprint Boise. Click here for more information about Blueprint Boise.
What is the Comprehensive Plan?
Boise's Comprehensive Plan is a long term (20 year) plan for the growth of the City. It includes a land use map depicting the expected type and location of future development in the City. The land use map works in conjunction with zoning to direct development to appropriate locations and in desirable amounts. It also depicts areas that the City expects to annex over time. Click here to read more about the Comp Plan ideals.
- The Comprehensive Plan's chapters address policies in detail. The chapters include a variety of maps which show the distribution of schools, parks, fire stations, sewer lines, historic districts etc. Comprehensive Plan policies are implemented through zoning, project review, capital improvement programming and/or budgeting, and a variety of other means.
- The Comprehensive Plan was prepared over a three-year period with extensive citizen input and review and was adopted by the City Council in January 1997. State law allows the plan to be amended twice a year. The City reviews the plan at the end of each year to determine whether conditions in the community or the desires of the citizens have changed enough to warrant revision of the plan.
Comprehensive Plan Policies
The Comprehensive Plan contains a wide range of policies, covering the items listed below. These elements and policies provide a philosophy and framework for charting the community's future growth and function.
- Public Services & Facilities
- Parks & Recreation
- Historic Preservation
- Neighborhoods
- Community Design
- Economic Development
- Hazards
- Environmental Quality
- Arts & Cultural Facilities
- Transportation
- Housing
What is New Urbanism?
The Comprehensive Plan references New Urbanism as desirable way to grow and develop in the future. New Urbanism describes a form of development common prior to World War II, when automobiles did not so heavily dictate the form and function of cities. This form of development is designed to accommodate automobiles, but also places pedestrians on more equal footing with the car.
Boise's examples of New Urbanism include the North End, East End, BSU Neighborhood, portions of the Central Bench, and Downtown.