An Idaho state senator is launching a new advocacy group to make it easier to build affordable housing in cities across the state.
Ali Rabe (D-Boise) is no stranger to housing issues. She formerly ran Jesse Tree in Boise, a nonprofit working to prevent evictions and homelessness.
In announcing the group's formation, Rabe said the Gem State Housing Alliance will urge cities and towns to remove barriers to building starter homes within their own ordinances.
“We could do things like comprehensive plan review, make recommendations for zoning code rewrites or improvements,” she said.
Wonky requirements that developers and public planners deal with on a day-to-day basis can significantly drive up project costs. Those include things like minimum lot sizes or how far homes must be set back from streets.
“We can kind of look at [processes] regarding approvals and design reviews or other reviews,” as well, said Rabe.
The City of Boise reworked its zoning code in 2023, allowing increased density in residential neighborhoods, cutting parking requirements and expanding the construction of accessible dwelling units, or ADUs.
The move also changed notification rules for neighbors to projects, along with other bureaucratic requirements.
Caleb Roop, the CEO of The Pacific Companies, is one of Gem State Housing Alliance’s board members.
He said Idaho could learn plenty of lessons of possible solutions, or mistakes, made by neighboring states.
“Part of what I hope we can do is to be a source of education and to be able to study what other states have done and maybe their lack of action or not acting quickly enough and bring some of those lessons learned to our state,” Roop said.
The remaining prongs in the alliance’s five-point plan would allow residential development in commercial and light industrial areas, identify publicly owned land that could be built on and extend utility services to future housing sites.
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