Future Land Use Designations and Map Areas

Land Use + Zoning Table

The Idaho State Code stipulates that zoning districts must align with the adopted comprehensive plan. The Future Land Use and Zoning Table identifies the city’s current zoning districts and their relationship to Blueprint Boise's land use designations defined below.

Interactive Land Use Map

Future Land Use and Zoning Table

Neighborhoods

• High-Density: Features apartments, condominiums, and townhomes, but may include four-plexes and duplexes. Generally located within or adjacent to mixed-use activity centers and along transit corridors and incorporated as part of neighborhood centers. Residential densities range from 15 to 45 dwelling units per acre.
• Compact: Detached single-family homes are predominant but a variety of housing types including duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, apartments and condominiums could be allowed. Residential densities typically are between 6-15 units/acre on lots ranging from 2,500 square feet or greater. Neighborhood activity centers with retail, restaurants, employment and other services are encouraged within walking distance. Pedestrian-oriented streetscapes are desired.
• Suburban: Features single-family detached homes on lots 9,000 square feet or great allowing for up to 4.8 dwelling units per acre. Pedestrian-oriented streetscapes are desired.
• Large Lot: Features single-family detached homes on lots ranging from ½ to more than one acre in size. Neighborhoods typically feature more rural characteristics. Clustering of homes is encouraged to preserve open space in environmentally sensitive areas. Typically, 1-2 dwelling units per acre are allowed.

Commercial/Employment

• Commercial: Intended for concentrated retail and commercial services generally located at the intersection of arterial roadways for community convenience. Pedestrian and transit-friendly development patterns and incorporation within Mixed-Use Activity Centers are encouraged.
• Office: Intended to accommodate small existing office complexes such as dentist offices, outpatient clinics and small professional offices. The office designation may be used to provide a transition between intense commercial uses and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Industrial: The designation is intended to provide for concentrated areas of employment with a variety of heavy and light manufacturing, warehousing, mini-storage, open storage, multi-tenant industrial parks, automotive repair and similar uses.

Mixed Use

• Mixed-Use: Located along corridors, mixed-use land provides a foundation for regional, community and neighborhood activity center development. The land use mix generally includes retail, commercial, office, restaurants, high–density residential, and live-work units. Served by existing or future transit, wider sidewalks and bike lane networks. Floor Area Ratios are typically between .5 and 2.0 (see diagram).
• Downtown Mixed-Use: Intended to reflect the significance of Downtown Boise’s role as the center of the community and region. The mix of uses should be tailored to adopted plans and generally include civic, cultural, retail, restaurant, educational facilities, medical, hotel, offices, financial institutions and medium to high density housing. Floor Area Ratios are generally between 2.0 and 10.0 (see diagram). The area is served by transit centers, wider sidewalks and a bike lane network.

Parks and Open Space

• Parks and Open Space: Designation which encompasses all parks, open space and recreational areas within the Area of City Impact. Provides for the active and passive recreational needs of the community. Generally, neighborhood parks are centrally located within neighborhoods and larger community facilities are located along major arterials and collectors.

Public/Institutional

• Airport: Designation intended to accommodate airport activity, aviation-related businesses and the Idaho National Guard. This area does not include commercial and industrial uses around the airport. Connections to the interstate, arterial networks and public transit is necessary.
• Airport Influence Area: A defined area that experiences increased noise and safety impacts due to airport operations and flight patterns. Restrictions on land use and building occupancy, as well as requirements for new structure noise attenuation apply in this area.
  • Airport Influence Area C: New development is limited to non-residential uses and noise sensitive land uses should not be expanded. Existing residential uses are to undergo sound insulation.
  • Airport Influence Area A: All new residential development and new schools are required to provide a noise level reduction of 25 decibels.
  • Airport Influence Area B: Residential development or other noise sensitive development such as schools, religious institutions, or adult or child day care facilities are prohibited. Sound insulation is required for noise sensitive areas of facilities.
  • Airport Influence Area B-1: New residential development is limited to 5 dwelling units per acre with additional density being considered on a case-by-case basis. Schools, universities, religious institutions, and adult or child daycare facilities are prohibited. New residential development is required to provide a noise level reduction of 30 decibels. Commercial uses are compatible but are required to provide insulation to achieve a noise level reduction of 25 decibels within noise sensitive areas of the facility.
• Public/Quasi-Public: Designation intended for facilities and services provided by the city, special districts, or by a quasi-public organization. Public facilities that are open for frequent public visitation should be located on transit routes and in areas with well-developed pedestrian facilities.
• School: Designation that includes all education and support services including public and private schools, colleges and universities. Schools are ideally located within neighborhoods to allow for bike and pedestrian access and co-located with parks where feasible. Larger community and regional facilities should be located along major arterials and collectors to provide access from other areas of the community.

Other

• Planning Areas: Boise City’s Area of City Impact is divided into 11 planning areas. Neighborhood plans have been developed in many of the planning areas to provide localized guidance within the overall context of the city. Each of the planning areas must be consistent with the overarching themes and guiding principles of the comprehensive plan.
• Boise State University Master Plan: Master Plan meant to ensure future growth will be consistent with the needs of the neighborhood surrounding BSU and the future land use policies of the city. Uses are anticipated to include multi-story buildings with up to one million square feet over a 10-block area.
• Planned Community: Area-specific policies apply in addition to design principles for neighborhoods, activity centers and community/employment as applicable. Applies to the Ten Mile Creek Planning Area south of the current Boise Area of City Impact and to the largely undeveloped East Columbia area.
• Slope Protection: Designation which coincides with areas identified as open space or slope protection areas by the Foothills Policy Plan. Intended to protect the scenic quality of the Foothills, along with wildlife habitat, sensitive plant species and the general environmental quality of the area. One residential unit can be allowed per 40 acres.
• Buildable Area: Areas identified by the Foothills Policy Plan as potentially buildable areas based on slope. Existing slopes in buildable areas are generally less than 25% although pockets of slopes greater than 25% may exist. Detailed slope surveys are required prior to development. Generally, densities of 1 unit per 40 acres are allowed but density bonuses may be granted.
• Area of Impact: An area that the city expects to grow into overtime. Ada County has adopted the Boise City Comprehensive Plan to apply to lands in the Area of City Impact and zoning standards are closely matched to the intent of Blueprint Boise. Within the Area of Impact, land use authority is retained by Ada County.

Corridors

• Interstate Highways: I-84 and I-184 provide access to Downtown and other areas of the community.
• Major Travel Corridors: Identified for their role in carrying traffic within Boise and throughout the region. These corridors form a grid of north/south and east/west connections for the community. These corridors offer an opportunity to promote a more compact pattern of development that will accommodate transit in the future.
• Transit Corridors: The rail corridor, State Street, Chinden/Broadway are all identified as future high-volume transit routes. Transit supportive land use patterns are encouraged along these corridors.