Module 2 Technical Survey

Question 1

Which neighborhood do you live in?

Answered: 47

Skipped: 2

Question 2

What type of home do you currently live in?

Answered: 49

Skipped: 0

Question 3

What is your current housing situation?

Answered: 49

Skipped: 0

Question 4

In what capacity do you use the Boise land development and/or zoning regulations? (check all that apply)

Answered: 46

Skipped: 3

Question 5

Based on your experiences, please rate the following development standards (i.e., how buildings/properties should look and feel) in terms of helping the city meet its goals of encouraging new developments that include affordable housing options, various housing types, transportation options, and the creation of exceptional places where people live, work, and play.

Answered: 46

Skipped: 3

Question 6

The Public Draft of Module 2 of the new Boise Zoning Ordinance covers many topics related to the size, look, and feel of new projects. Based on your experience, which of the following types of Design and Development Standards in the current zoning regulations (if any) are most in need of clarification or changes (check all that apply).

Question 7

For any or all of the boxes you checked in Question 6, please explain in general what clarifications or changes you would like to see included in the new code.

Answered: 29

Skipped: 20

*See survey comments for question 7 responses.

Question 8

The draft proposes eliminating maximum dwelling unit/acre requirements in the Residential zoning districts and using minimum lot area, average lot width, and minimum setbacks and open space to limit the intensity of development. These changes are being made because physical dimensions are often a better way to ensure that new
development “fits in” with surrounding patterns of development, and because dwelling unit/acre requirements often prevent the construction of innovative new types of housing. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-03.2.A.

Do you feel that the proposed changes will help encourage creative housing design and the development of more affordable housing options and various housing types?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 9

The draft proposes eliminating maximum floor area ratio, minimum lot area, minimum street frontage, and average lot width requirements in the Mixed-Use and Nonresidential (but not Residential) zoning districts. Instead, the draft proposes using building envelope controls (like maximum and minimum heights, maximum and minimum setbacks, minimum on-site open space, and similar controls on the shape and size of buildings) to govern the intensity of development. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-03.2.B.

Do you feel the proposed changes will help increase the predictability of building forms in the Mixed-Use and Nonresidential districts and allow flexibility to respond to the market needs while ensuring that the resulting buildings “fit in” with their surroundings?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 10

The draft includes new provisions that would provide more predictability regarding compatibility between low-density residential uses and adjacent more intense land uses. The draft provision would require the following:

• A maximum building height of 35 feet for any portion of the higher intensity building located within 100 feet of the low-density residential use OR an additional 10 feet of side and rear setbacks for the higher intensity building if it exceeds 35 feet in height.
• A maximum height limit of 20 feet for outdoor light poles and wall-mounted light fixtures on the higher intensity property if they are located within 50 feet of the low-density residential use.
• Additional landscaping and screening requirements on the higher intensity property.
• Limitations on the location of parking areas, drive-through lanes, or circulation driveways between the higher and lower intensity buildings.

These regulations are found in Section 11-04-03.4.

Do you feel that the proposed changes will help protect existing residential neighborhoods and reduce potential conflicts between residential and nonresidential land uses?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 11

This draft introduces incentives for projects that incorporate design elements for more sustainable and resilient development. Incentives include a 50 percent parking reduction in several Residential and Mixed-Use zone districts, and one additional story of building height in several Mixed-Use districts. These incentives can be earned by installing on-site renewable energy sources, significantly reducing energy consumption, and significantly reducing water consumption, or by achieving at least a minimum certification in a sustainable development rating system (such as a LEED Silver Certification or a National Green Building Standards Silver certification). These regulations are found in Section 11-04-03.7.C.

Do you think the available bonuses in Table 11-04.9 above are significant enough to encourage the use of this incentive?

Answered: 38

Skipped: 11

Question 12

This draft includes new standards to encourage smaller blocks and more frequent street and sidewalk connection points in order to encourage walking and bicycling as an alternative to automobile trips. These controls include new maximum block length standards that limit new blocks to:

• No more than 25 percent longer or shorter than average length and width of adjacent subdivided blocks (if 50 percenter or more of the perimeter of the proposed lot is already subdivided); OR
• 330 feet in width and 660 in length (if less than 50 percent of perimeter of the proposed lot is already subdivided)

New cross-access standards promote more pedestrian-friendly development by requiring shared parking and access points through connecting streets and driveways, coordinating and linking parking structure and lot entrances, consolidating common service/delivery areas, allowing shared parking structures and lots, and allowing shared driveways for two adjacent lots to minimize curb cuts. These regulations are found in Sections 11-04-06.4.G and H.

Do you feel the proposed changes would encourage more walking and bicycling and reduce the length of automobile trips?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 13

The requirements for vehicular circulation and pedestrian connections during the site development process have been significantly expanded.

• Vehicular circulation standards primarily address access points, limiting the number and location of curb cuts, requiring vehicle entrances and exits to be located 50 feet from any intersecting street right-of-way and at least 10 feet from an adjacent property line, and requiring primary circulation and access to be oriented toward predominantly non-single-family residential streets.
• Pedestrian connectivity requirements include walkways at least five feet wide from the main entrance of a building to a public sidewalk or internal walkway, walkways between the principal entrance of each building in a multi-building development, connections to any sidewalks on adjacent properties that extend to the boundaries of those properties, connections to any adjacent open space or park, and clearly distinguished sidewalk crossings within a development.

These regulations are found in Sections 11-04-06.5.B and C.

Do you feel the proposed changes would encourage more walking and bicycling and reduce the length of automobile trips?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 14

The Table of Minimum and Maximum Off-Street Parking Requirements has been updated to generally reduce the minimum number of required parking spaces, and to remove most requirements for discretionary parking approvals. For example, the parking requirement for a single-family detached dwelling has been reduced from two spaces per dwelling unit to one space per dwelling unit to encourage smaller, more diverse housing types. The minimum parking requirements for restaurants have been updated to five spaces per 1,000 square feet of gross floor area instead of one space per three seats, because the number of seats in a restaurant may change over time and “per-seat” regulations often result in excess parking. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-07.5.

Do you think the proposed changes are sufficient to further the city’s goals to increase transportation options and encourage compact, mixed-use development?

Answered: 39

Skipped: 10

Question 15

The current broad maximum parking limits (175 percent of the minimum where 20 or fewer spaces are required and 150 percent of the minimum where more than 20 spaces are required) have been refined to only apply to those land uses that have high likelihood of over-supplying parking spaces. The uses targeted for maximum parking limits includes Multifamily Dwellings, Schools, Hotels, and Large/Big Box Retails uses (and a few others), and the maximum limit for these larger scale uses has been reduced from 175 percent to 125 percent of the minimum requirement. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-07.5.

Do you think the proposed changes are sufficient to further the city’s goals to increase transportation options and encourage compact development?

Answered: 38

Skipped: 11

Question 16

The draft includes a new approach to shared parking reductions to allow for administrative approval of reductions based on different combinations of uses and eliminates the requirement to receive a Conditional Use Permit to reduce minimum requirements by greater than 10 percent. Allowed parking adjustments include reductions for the following:

• Shared parking facilities;
• On-street parking;
• Motorcycle parking;
• Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs; and
• Affordable housing, transit-supportive housing, and adaptive reuse housing that earn the Diverse Housing Incentive.

Combination of these parking reductions can be used, but no combination can result in a reduction of the minimum number of parking spaces required be more than 50 percent. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-07.6.

Do you think these proposed changes are sufficient to further the city’s goals to promote more efficient and affordable development?

Answered: 36

Skipped:13

Question 17

The draft zoning ordinance supplements current water efficiency standards for landscaping with new requirements to:

• Use xeriscaping design principles (e.g. using mulches to reduce evaporation, discourage weed growth, and keep the soil cool);
• Install drought-tolerant or adaptive sod/seed mix;
• Limit turf areas to 33 percent of the landscaped area;
• Prohibit invasive plants; and
• Limit the use of water features (e.g. fountains, waterfalls, and ponds).

These regulations are found in Section 11-04- 08.3.E.

Do you think the proposed changes are sufficient to further the city’s goals to promote environmental stewardship through environmentally-friendly development practices through water conservation?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 18

The draft introduces new screening requirements for both rooftop and ground-mounted mechanical and utility equipment.

• The standards for roof-mounted equipment require that the equipment (i) not be visible from five feet above ground on any lot line and adjacent public rights-of-way or open spaces OR (ii) be hidden from view using parapet walls or an enclosure that matches the primary building façade.
• The standards for ground-mounted equipment require that equipment located within view of customer entrances and public rights-of-way and open space be integrated into the overall site and architectural design using a decorative wall, fence, or enclosure and/or landscaping that is of sufficient height and opacity to soften and screen views.

These regulations are found in Section 11-04-08.10.D(4) and the (cross-referenced) Citywide Design Standards.

Do you think the proposed changes make a meaningful contribution to achieving the city’s goal of increasing the visual quality of new development?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 19

The draft carries forward the Citywide Design Standards and Guidelines requirements for at least one pedestrian entrance to each primary building that is visible and directly accessible from an adjacent street. In areas with an established pattern of building entrances facing the street, new building entrances must match that pattern. The draft also introduces an additional new standard that building frontages exceeding 100 feet in length with a nonresidential ground floor use include one visible and directly accessible entrance within each 50 feet of building length. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-09.2.B.

Do you think the codification and expansion or these basic standards related to street-oriented building entrances will help promote the city’s goal of achieving more walkable and pedestrian oriented development?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 20

The draft carries forward the Citywide Design Standards and Guidelines transparency requirements for ground floor, street-facing façade transparency based on the proximity of the ground floor of the building to a sidewalk (e.g. 40 percent of ground floor façade when located within 10 feet of sidewalk) or when residential uses occupy the ground floor (15 percent of the street-facing façade area). New transparency requirements limit the use of reflective glass (visible transmittance ratio of at least 0.60) on key pedestrian facades, and in some situations require the use of glazing treatments such as external screens over glass windows, paned glass with mullions, or glass covered with patterns, to reduce bird-strike incidents. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-09.2.C.(4) and (5).

Do you think the codification and expansion of these building façade transparency standards will help promote the city’s goal of achieving high-quality pedestrian oriented development and contribute to environmental stewardship?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 21

The draft introduces building articulation standards for street-facing façades of primary buildings that are tailored by zoning district. In the R-2, R-3, MX-S, MX-I, and I-1 districts, each street-facing façade is required to incorporate at least one of the following elements within each 50 horizontal feet of building façade:

• Projections, recessions, columns, cornices, change of wall plane a minimum of six inches in depth;
• Awnings or canopies extending at least four feet beyond the building face with a minimum vertical clearance of nine feet above the sidewalk; or
• Visible differences in façade material texture and/or masonry patterns.

In the MS-N, MX-A, and MX-D districts, each street-facing façade shall incorporate at least two of the elements listed above within each 50 horizontal feet of building façade. These regulations are found in Section 11-04-09-2.D(2).

Do you think the codification and expansion of these building façade transparency standards will help promote the city’s goal of achieving more pedestrian oriented development and high-quality building design?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 22

The draft zoning ordinance proposes some relatively simple and objective standards to enhance the city’s regulation of exterior lighting. These regulations are found in Section 11-4-010. Key standards:

• Promote lighting efficiency by requiring that new fixtures provide a minimum of 80 lumens per watt of energy consumed;
• Reduce glare by requiring full cutoff/fully shielded lighting fixtures and by limited uplighting of building facades;
• Limit light trespass by prohibiting lighting levels at property lines that do not front on a public or private street to 1.0 footcandle; and
• Promoting Dark Skies by requiring that all outdoor lighting fixtures remain off between 11:00 P.M. and sunrise in Residential, Mixed-Use, and Special Purpose zoning districts except for security purposes or to illuminate walkways, driveways, equipment yards, or parking lots.

Do you think the proposed changes are sufficient to further the city’s goals to minimize light trespass from developed areas, reduce sky-glow to increase night sky access, and reduce development impact on nocturnal environments?

Answered: 37

Skipped: 12

Question 23

Do you have any other comments, questions, or concerns about any of the content included in Module 2: Development and Design Standards? When possible, please note the section reference of the particular standards for which you offer a comment.

Answered: 14

Skipped: 35

*See survey comments for question 23 responses.