This Zoning re-write process has an assured pre-determined outcome -i.e. the end product will be radical Upzoning that will gentrify neighborhoods and drive the majority of current residents out of our homes. The city’s select groups are “cover” to try to give it a veneer of legitimacy. The make-up of the Advisory Group shows this is not a legitimate process – instead is more insider dealing.

HERE is a video from Austin TX describing the Zoning scheme the City and its hired consultants are going to be imposing on Boise – unless people push back HARD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsYOurWEoSc

There is never a “wrong” time for the citizens to administer a little “straight talk and common sense” to their elected leaders. Propositions 1 and 2 during a municipal election were surely the “wrong time” from the perspective of our elected leadership, but a much-needed wake-up call from the citizens, nearly three-quarters of whom demanded a better approach from their city leaders. And what better time than a mayoral runoff election for citizens to ask the hard questions about the direction Boise is headed? No, Thanksgiving is no time for us to doze off into a turkey-induced, tryptophan haze, given the stakes that are at play with Boise’s future.

Both the local consultant (Diane Kushlan) and the out of state consultant (Clarion – Donald Elliott, Jim Sprung) have the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) credential, which is part of the American Planning Association. This organization’s website states that the planning process must continuously pursue and faithfully serve the public interest, and emphasizes Ethical Principles In Planning for its members to abide by and conduct its activities.

Maybe the chosen few regular citizens who will get to participate in this Zoning Code process need to remind the consultants, and any city staff who have the AICP credential, that the first principle of conduct is to “Recognize the rights of citizens to participate in planning decisions.”

Ethical Principles In Planning – Planning Process Participants should:

1. Recognize the rights of citizens to participate in planning decisions;

2. Strive to give citizens (including those who lack formal organization or influence) full, clear and accurate information on planning issues and the opportunity to have a meaningful role in the development of plans and programs; 


3. Strive to expand choice and opportunity for all persons, recognizing a special responsibility to plan for the needs of disadvantaged groups and persons; 


4. Assist in the clarification of community goals, objectives and policies in plan-making; 


5. Ensure that reports, records and any other non-confidential information which is, or will 
be, available to decision makers is made available to the public in a convenient format and sufficiently in advance of any decision; 


6. Strive to protect the integrity of the natural environment and the heritage of the built environment; 


7. Pay special attention to the interrelatedness of decisions and the long range consequences of present actions. 


Power of observation: We can’t grow our way out of this exponential problem. It’s global in nature, and very local on impact. It’s 5th grade math. It will not show up in affordable housing schemes.

So far, the public isn’t ready to accept the hard truth surrounding the law of exponential growth, which is found at the base of it all. Follow the money. It’s a bargain with the future.

So if you own or live in an area where the next vision of density exists, where “investment” sees a way to promise future profits, you have been notified about the next wave of change that is here and now. This issue is succinctly described here >>> http://www.zonedoutfilm.com/ . –Thank you Katie Fite!

If you want to know what Kushan and Associates (Diane K.) thinks about the Vista Ave Corridor, here’s a quote from her work to produce a report by Urban Land Institutes (ULI).

SUMMARY OF CURRENT VISTA AVE CORRIDOR
“LAND USE: some single-family housing, single story strip commercial, car and tire dealers, auto repair shops, fast food, drive-ins, bars, pawn shops and adult entertainment venues.”

Granted, Vista Ave has its share of what’s listed, but what about the other great things? There are real people who work and live on Vista AVE and have invested there. What about including other thriving and existing categories in the list for a more honest and accurate land use statement: GROCERY, FLOORING, JEWELRY, FLORAL, PHARMACY, DINING, BANKING, SHIPPING, POSTAL, MEDICAL, HOTEL, RETAIL RECREATIONAL EQUIPMENT, VETERINARY, SALON, LEGAL, ACCOUNTING…

You can see the narrative being developed. And this is the very person who is contracted with the city of Boise to re-write our zoning laws.

I might disagree with ‘Removing Barriers…’ by stating that public agencies (Boise City, Ada County, ACHD, etc.) don’t always have to meet inside their fortified castles. There is no law requiring such isolation, which is a huge hindrance for citizens to attend.

How about Boise City Council meeting in a school auditorium twice a year? Rotate SE, West, NW, etc.

Same for Planning and Zoning and other committees. Stop the madness!

I suspect that the lack of representation for the Bench stems from the fact that the F-35 debacle proved that the Bench residency is too immobile to being persuaded by sheer City Hall decree and propaganda prowess. So, willful ignorance is the default position.

I sure hope that the Idaho GOP will make a decent bid for District 17 in the next election. My feeling is that D17 is much more purple than blue and that apathy on the part of GOP functionaries allowed TEAM 17 to waltz in and steal it. If you go to a D17 townhall meeting, you see them getting an earful from attendees on City issues that would paint D17 as much more conservative than you would expect.

Anti-Constitutional outrages by MaryAnne Jordan are typical when she berates “deplorables” in thinly veiled language. Except she DID go nuclear on the 2nd Amendment one time and declared it void in today’s progressive world view.

Urbanism is the road to Socialism. People control is the agenda, cuz we are all too “stupid” to run our own lives. We all must be protected from ourselves. City policy will carry this agenda out for them, one piece at a time. Feeling cozy, yet?