ARPA Appendices

Increase Availability of/Access to Affordable Housing

• “Requirement for all multi-unit structures to have a percentage of low-income housing to keep it spread out.”
• “Needed: Large amount of affordable senior specific housing. Small 500-600 sq ft, ADA equipped, one level apartments.”

Improve Zoning Code

• “Tiny houses should be a serious consideration, allowing ADUs, more spaces for RVs.”
• “Reduce car dependent subdivisions and encourage more density and  neighborhood friendly streets. There needs to be more of mixed housing options such as detached/semidetached houses, apartments and town homes."

Provide Support and Protection for Renters

• “Provide more tenants' rights such that tenants have more time (e.g., two to three months) before they can be officially evicted.”
• “Give tax breaks or incentives to property managers/owners who keep rental rates at 25% or more below the market rent and/or accept section 8. Install a rental increase cap so people can be prepared for how much their rent is going to go up each year - no more than 10% increase each year.”

Build Public/Subsidized Housing

• “Build publicly owned housing affordable to the poorest Boiseans.”
• "Build city owned low-income housing. Capitalism won’t work for this.”

Improve/Expand Homeless and Emergency Shelters

• “Boise is in desperate need to help the homeless. Money towards purchasing a hotel for the homeless would be ideal.”
• “A large majority of these funds should be used to create scattered shelter sites throughout Boise to serve different populations that find themselves homeless due to drug abuse, mental illness, loss of employment, or personal health crises. Research shows that non-congregate shelter is the preferred model.”
• “Create education campaigns for the public to understand the justification behind identified methods for alleviating homelessness, offer more pathways for community support and involvement, and rally the support of the community.”

Reduced Property Taxes

• “Property taxes are a substantial burden for retired seniors in Boise.”
• “Why not use the funds to invest in the upgrade of our water and sewer infrastructure. It would be a significant impact on affordability of housing if our utility bills do not have 9 % increases for 10 years to pay for a bond”

Motor/Ban Short Term Rentals

• “Set policy on Air BnB units that either increases tax revenue from them for city to use towards affordable housing, and/or does not allow them to take up available inventory.”
• “Incentives for landlords/homeowners to shift away from short term to long term rentals.”

Improve Public Transportation

• “Buses running at critical times of day to get those employed downtown to outlying communities which may have more affordable housing.”

Other

• “Use funds to install solar panels in all Boise affordable housing projects.”
• “Make housing vouchers for people with developmental disabilities when transitioning from institutional living to community living.”

Improve Access to Mental Health Resources

• “Setting up a system for mental health providers, utilizing technology they already have for virtual mental health appointments but expanding upon it for deaf clients to utilize an ‘on screen’ sign language interpreter who can voice and sign would improve mental health access for the Deaf community.”
• “Funding for hotlines.”

Provide Free or Sliding Scale Therapy/Counseling

• “Boys & Girls Clubs are currently providing free counseling from a licensed, professional counselor to any Boys & Girls Club member in need of mental health support.”
• “Provide free therapy sessions to health care workers who worked through covid”.

Addiction and Substance Use Treatment

• “Implement a ‘harm reduction’ in treating substance use.”

Hire Mental Health and Social Workers as First Responders

• “Increase mobile mental health units in partnership with police so that there is appropriate response to domestic issues and mental health crises.”
• “Divert funding from policing and put it towards social services that prevent crime and arrests. We need our social workers, first responders, care takers, and mental health professionals to be paid more and to get them involved the way police are in the streets responding immediately.

Improve/Expand Shelters and Resources for People Experiencing Homelessness in our Community

• “Connect with local shelter programs and provide mental health supports in connection with shelter programs for adults, teens and families.”

Community Building and Destigmatization of Mental Health

• “We need a Mental Health Community Center in Boise.”

Promote Health and Wellness

• “Subsidized yoga via local YMCA”
• “Very few things contribute to mental health more than getting regular exercise, especially in the outdoors. The group hardest hit by COVID-19 is seniors. The fastest growing sport among seniors
  is Pickleball... I can't imagine a better use for these dollars than to increase the number of pickleball courts around Boise.”

Hire Mental Health Workers at School

• “Increase access to mental health via public schools and community school programs”

Other

• “Connectivity to a park within 10 minutes of neighborhoods is a positive goal. Mental health services within 10 minutes would also be a valuable goal.”
• “No better way to assist those experiencing mental health issues than to [ensure] they have safe housing.”

Improve or Open New Food Banks/Pantries

• “Healthy food is hard to come by. The food banks seldom have fresh food.”
• “Have more ‘stigma free’ grab and go food bank locations.”

Create Community Gardens

• “Invest in acquisition of plots of land within the city to protect as community gardens; invest/ subsidize in local gardens and farms to grow crops specifically for those on food stamp or free food programs.”
• “Sponsor community gardens in low-income residential areas and educate people on gardening skills, preparing and cooking vegetables, and nutrition.”

Provide Free School Meals

• “Free school lunch and breakfast for every kid, weekend food bags available at schools.”
• “Increased funding for school lunches. Need to be nutritious and no child should ever go hungry.”

Address Food Deserts

• “Partner with Boise Farmers Market or local farmers directly to provide weekly produce baskets to qualified households.”
• “Incentivize food retail developments in food desert neighborhoods through tax breaks, etc. Continue to promote mobile markets in neighborhoods outside of downtown to remove transportation barriers.”

Provide Nutrition/Cooking Classes

• “A community kitchen that provides free training and meals to the public.”

Enhance Snap

• “Increase the amount of food stamps our seniors get.”

Reduce Transportation Barriers

• “Fund and expand current food distribution efforts.”
• “Enhance support for Boise Farmer's Mobile Market, helping strengthen our local food web.”

Address Food Waste

• “Resource waste and resource capture would be good to explore. I think individual restaurants and stores might make efforts, but aggregated collection and distribution might have a great impact.”

Other

• “Develop a local food action plan that supports development of local agriculture and businesses.”
• “Make several tents at the farmer's market 'free' for folks to come get fresh food (fruit, veggies, meats). Use this money to pay for the projects from the local farmers and businesses."

Provide Grants for Small Businesses

• “I think cash assistance to businesses would be great, but it should be more wide ranging instead of just grants to pay for COVID related costs like last time.”
• “Based upon the substantial financial relief that many of our local restaurants received recently... there are other service industries that have also been greatly negatively impacted by the pandemic. Hair Salons, as an example, are also completely dependent on making their living within brick-and-mortar walls.”

Create Training/Mentorship Programs for Business Owners

• “Work with business groups and small businesses to study best employment practices, specifically how to attract and keep employees. Then provide resources to help make those changes permanent.”

Loans for Small Businesses

• “Underwrite/subsidize low interest loans for small businesses.”
• “Micro-loans for refugee small business startups”

Reduce Taxes

• "Stop any implementation of new or expanded urban renewal areas as those only assist wealthy investors/ developers and increase the tax burden on everyone else, including small businesses.”

Create Job Training Programs for Workers

• “Support of school to work internship programs.”

Revitalize Downtown/Improve Transportation

• “Offer relaxed parking fees downtown on weekends and certain hours in front of businesses. Offer city sponsored discount cards for loyalty and repeat customers and offer rewards and incentives for
  people to shop downtown - keep 8th street closed to cars!”
• “Host quarterly ‘small business day’ and businesses can sign up and host events, deals, later hours (advertise, offer discounts/giveaways, make bus routes free this day, etc). could be done in conjunction with First Thursday.”

Other

• “Give small local businesses preference in governmental purchases.”
• “There is, in general, enough capital to go around so this need not be a city priority.”

Financial Assistance to Childcare Facilities

• “Grants for starting daycare in town. Provide business training for daycare business models.”
• “Grant program for small childcare providers for hiring bonuses, training, supplies, or capital improvements.”

Extra Pay for Childcare/Education Workers

• “Subsidize pay for childcare workers to ensure that small childcare facilities can hire and retain good workers.”

Direct Funding to Families

• “Provide financing for quality childcare for families living in poverty.”
• “A few hundred bucks a month for parents to help with childcare.”

New City-Run Childcare Facilities

• “I would LOVE to see a city-sponsored, 24/7 childcare center for people who make 80% AMI or less.”

Create Job Training Programs for Workers

• “Support of school to work internship programs.”

Incentivize Businesses to Offer Childcare

• “Financially help businesses who want to build on-site childcare facilities for workers. Ensure these businesses provide a living wage and benefits to on-site childcare workers.”
• “Tax credits for employers who offer daycare.”

Financial Assistance to Schools

• “Most obviously universal pre-k through all public schools and raise wages for teachers.”
• “Please help schools and daycares implement the latest research on covid safety protocols. That means ventilation, high-quality filtration, and free N95 masks.”

Reduce Barriers to Licensing Daycare Facilities

• “Support small family childcare and make it easier to get zoning for up to 24 children. Not enough options for small childcare to expand. Too many roadblocks that don’t make sense.”

After School Programs

• “Help to fund after school care and daily/weekly COVID-19 testing.”

Other

• “It is imperative that licensing be required, and that each facility is visited randomly to make sure the kids are safe.”
• “A huge area where the city can move fast.”
• “The city has no responsibility to provide childcare.”