Boise, ID Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Section 11-04-02 of the Boise City Code sets the applicability rules for Chapter 11-04, Development and Design Standards, and is the section that pulls the separately adopted Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines into force. A extends that to any new primary or accessory structure on a lot. A adds a second, stacked layer: Residential Small Lot development, Multiple-Family Dwelling, mixed-use, and nonresidential development must also comply with the mandatory content of the Citywide Design Standards and Guidelines or the Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines, whichever applies to the location.

A(2) sends everything outside that boundary to the Citywide Design Standards and Guidelines instead. B, cross-walks each Chapter 11-04 standard (lot and building design, subdivision standards, sensitive lands, building design, access and connectivity, parking and loading, landscaping and screening, exterior lighting, and signs) against the review track it triggers, from ministerial zoning certificate compliance review up through major design review and conditional use permits. B resolves conflicts between the two guideline documents and the base Chapter 11-04 text by directing the Planning Director to apply whichever standard produces the higher level of visual building quality and interest.

The provision was adopted by Ordinance 27-23 on 7-18-2023, effective 12-1-2023, and amended by Ordinance 43-23 on 12-5-2023 and Ordinance 25-25 on 6-24-2025, reflecting Boise's periodic updates to the underlying design guideline documents themselves.