Planning Process Overview

Overview

Early collaboration creates a more consistent and smooth process for both the applicant and city staff. It helps to reduce costly changes and ensures the best results for everyone. To facilitate this collaboration, the Planning Division provides a free planning consultation through a PLN record. This PLN record captures pre-application activities for consistent communication between you and city staff.

Applicants will first start a planning project (PLN record) and upload a general site plan and a project description. The record will be then assigned to a planner. Please allow 10-15 business days for a response.

The assigned planner performs a high-level analysis of submitted materials (Concept Review), provides guidance on code requirements, facilitates additional reviews (*if required), and creates the application(s) necessary for planning approval.

Concept Review

Concept Review is a high-level assessment of the applicants’ vision of their project. The planning team will ascertain if the project meets the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan (Blueprint Boise), provide guidance on code requirements and process, and answer questions to get the project started with a good foundation.

How Do I Prepare?

When you create your PLN record, please upload the following:

• Project description that includes:
  • Address or addresses of the project
  • Vision of the project: What is the intent of the project? For simple projects, this can be one or two sentences. For larger projects, please include the design intent, how it will interact with the surrounding area, and how it contributes to the City’s goals for growth
  • Number and types of units (if applicable)
  • Access and parking
  • Optional: other information relevant to the project
• Drawings:
  • Site plan: please be sure to provide dimensions of structures and distances to the property lines
  • Any other drawings relevant to the project

The project description and drawings must be submitted in PDF format with the following file naming convention:

• CR_PROJECT DESCRIPTION_DATE
• CR_DRAWINGS_DATE

Concept Review Consultation

Once the assigned planner has reviewed the submitted materials, they will contact you with comments, corrections, and/or next steps. If the project appears to meet code requirements, it will be moved out of Concept Review and proceed to the next step. If the proposal does not meet code requirements, your planner will discuss options to bring it into compliance.

Once Concept Review is completed, the planning team will provide a summary report to the applicant with feedback on the proposal and an overview of next steps.

Simpler projects will proceed to application submittal at this point.

Neighborhood Meeting

(*if applicable)

Most hearing level applications will require a neighborhood meeting. The neighborhood meeting is held after a project passes Concept Review and before Interdepartmental Review (if required).

What Takes Place?

The applicant organizes and hosts a meeting with nearby neighbors and the Neighborhood Association(s) to allow residents to voice feedback early in the project. No city officials will be present.

Who is invited?

City code requires residents (owners and occupants) within a certain notification radius of the project to be informed of and invited to a Neighborhood Meeting. Your consulting planner will create a neighborhood meeting list application form for you to fill out and submit. Please allow 2-3 business days for processing once the application for the list has been submitted and the fee paid.

When and where to hold the Neighborhood Meeting?

Code requirements for the Neighborhood Meeting can be found here and are as follows:

• Location: A Neighborhood Meeting shall be held in a finished, climate-controlled structure near the project site in an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant venue that is accessible to persons experiencing mobility impairments (e.g., those using wheelchairs or walkers) and vision impairments.
• Date: Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays.
• Time: The meeting shall start between 6 and 8 p.m. Hybrid meetings that include both in-person and virtual attendance options are allowed.

Neighborhood Meeting Notification

Invitations to the neighborhood meeting must be mailed and postmarked a minimum of 10 days before the meeting is to be held. Hand deliveries shall not be used as a substitute for mailed notice.

The invitation letter shall include the following:

• Reference the PLN record and the type of application being applied for
• The meeting date, time, and location
• A project description, a site plan, and conceptual elevations
• The contact information of the applicant, including email and telephone number

An invitation template can be found here.

At the meeting

The applicant shall bring to the Neighborhood Meeting a general site plan for the proposed development that at minimum indicates the height and general location of primary and accessory structures on the property, proposed vehicle parking and service areas, and proposed points of pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular access to the property.

Please review the Neighborhood Meeting Best Practice guide to make the most of the meeting.

Neighborhood Meeting Best Practice Guide

After the Neighborhood Meeting

After the meeting takes place, the applicant shall upload the following into the PLN record:

• A copy of the Neighborhood Meeting invitation
• The Neighborhood Meeting List
• Drawings and other content shared at the meeting
• Attendee sign-in sheet with names and addresses
• Any written comments received from neighbors
• Completed Neighborhood Meeting Summary Form

These documents can be combined into one .pdf document named NM_MEETING_ (meeting date).

Once the planning department has determined that all required materials have been provided in the required format, the applicant will be notified that they may proceed Interdepartmental Review (IDR) if required, or application submittal.

Interdepartmental Review

(*if applicable)

An Interdepartmental Review (IDR) may be required before application submittal. This level of review is necessary for potentially complex projects that require discussion and coordination with other city departments (Public Works, Boise Fire, or Boise Police Department) and external agencies that support Boise development such as the Ada County Highway District (ACHD) or Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC).

This review session provides opportunities for you to discuss your project directly with all interested groups and collect valuable feedback that will help create a more polished product and design before an application is officially submitted for review.

How Do I Prepare?

Once the project has passed through Concept Review, and after the Neighborhood Meeting (if required), the IDR Team will reach out to schedule your IDR meeting. Meetings can be attended in person or virtually.

At least 2 weeks before your scheduled IDR meeting, please provide the following information and incorporate any corrections or suggestions from Concept Review. Please provide the following materials in one .pdf named IDR_PLANS_ (meeting date).

• A short narrative
• A dimensioned site plan
• Massing information about the proposed buildings (renderings, detailed elevations, etc.) (if applicable)
• A proposed timeline and phasing of the project (if applicable)

After IDR has been completed, the planning team will provide the IDR Summary Report to the applicant via email with recommendations from all partner agencies involved in the meeting. An additional IDR may be recommended if substantial concerns are identified which the applicant would like to address prior to application submittal. Otherwise, planning staff will make the appropriate application(s) available in the planning case, and the applicant will be notified via email that there is an application ready to complete in the Permitting and Licensing system.

The applicant can then complete and submit the application(s) online and pay the fees to proceed.

Application Submittal

The application is the beginning of the official planning review for a project. The Development Services Team will open the application form(s) for you.

How to submit an application

Applications are created in the Permitting and Licensing site but reviewed in ePlanReview.

Please follow these instructions to complete the application form on the Permitting and Licensing site. If the application form is complete, you’ll receive two emails from ePlanReview if this is your first time in the ePlan system – just one if you have submitted online previously (these may go to your spam/junk folder). The first email will have a verification code and a link to directions for setting up an ePlanReview account. The second email will have an ‘Applicant Upload’ task. Each application type has a checklist of required materials that must be uploaded into ePlanReview. Please follow these directions to submit your application materials in ePlanReview.

**PLEASE NOTE: Materials do not copy over from the PLN consultation record into the application.

Once the materials have been uploaded into the planning application, it will be prescreened to ensure that all required items from the checklist have been provided. Incomplete application packets will be returned for corrections, and the applicant will be directed on which items are missing.

Once we have received a complete application packet, fees are assessed. Once the fees have been paid, the planning application will be assigned for review and decision. Please allow up to 10 business days for the application to be assigned to a planner.

See Planning Application Review for information on types of review and decision-making bodies.