Hear the PublicAgenda -August 7, 2000
Boise tries 'New Urban' development
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By Shannon Lafferty
The Idaho Statesman
Half of Americans cannot drive: They are either too young or too old to operate a vehicle.
But many American cities are designed for a car culture, Boise architects Sherry McKibben
and Doug Cooper observe.
"Half of America is stranded," Cooper said. The post -World War H building boom
introduced compartmentalized development, making Americans more dependent on the car. Now
Americans drive from their suburban neighborhoods to office parks and shopping centers.
Huge parking lots and garage doors dominate many streetscapes, said McKibben,
who is the director of the University of Idaho's Urban Research and Design Center.
Developers continue to push the outskirts of urban areas, requiring residents to travel in
their cars for basic goods and services. "We've just developed out there with -no sense of place.
There's single -use, single -value homes," McKibben said. "You cWt walk anywhere."
But change is on the horizon. Some say it's even closer. McKibben and Cooper and a
growing group of Treasure Valley planners, architects, developers and neighborhood activists are
part of a national movement designed to bring a mix of neighborhoods, offices and shops to human
scale and re-create a sense of place in America!s cities. The two returned along with other Treasure
Valley planners and officials from The Congress for the New Urbanism this summer in Portland.
More than 200 development projects in the United States are considered "New Urban," and
100 more are in the planning stages, according to The Congress for the New Urbanism, based in San
Francisco.
The term "New Urbanism" that has become popular with Treasure Valley developers and
planners refers to a compact form of development designed to counteract suburban sprawl. As many
as eight construction projects in Boise use New Urban characteristics, according to Boise's planning
and development department.
The New Urbanism movement calls for mixed -used neighborhoods designed for pedestrians
as well as cars. New Urban neighborhoods include a network of streets; a commercial neighborhood
center that residents can bike or walk to; a mix of commercial and residential
uses; a variety of housing types, including single-family homes, duplexes and apartments; and an
emphasis on community open space.
New Urban neighborhoods typically have higher densities than standard suburban
neighborhoods, and there is more emphasis on design. Sidewalks, not parking lots, define the front
of retail stores. Garages are often tucked behind homes in alleys. Porches stretch along the
fronts. of homes. Architecture and landscaping often celebrate local history, climate and ecology.
The ultimate goal of New Urban designers and builders is to create a full -service community
where residents can live, work and shop all without having to leave their neighborhood.
. Developers building new neighborhoods and projects on the fringe of the city and in -fill
projects in the heart of Boise are experimenting with New Urban concepts. Harris Ranch in East
Boise, Hidden Springs in North Ada County, Ustick Station in West Boise and Urban
Renaissance along Apple Street in Southeast Boise all reflect New Urban ideas.
New Urban development provides resid6nts an alternative to conventional development and
creates an atmosphere that leads to more community interaction, McKibben said. The variety of
New Urban development typically can cost anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent more
than conventional development. Martin, who has developed New Urban projects in and around
Chicago, said the design adds expense from the initial planning costs to actual construction costs.
Amenities like trail systems, parks, trees along the streets and subsidizing retail stores also add to the
cost, McKibben said. Simmons, who attended the national New Urbanism conference this
summer, said Boise's downtown and its historic neighborhoods already have the framework to
support New Urban development.
"I think Boise is a natural for it. Our downtown is the strongest selling point for New
Urbanism," Simmons said. "In the core of our city, we're starting with a really good base."
The grid of streets in the downtown area and the surrounding East End, North End, Depot
Bench, Veterans Memorial and Vista neighborhoods provides the interconnectivity needed for New
Urban design. A mix of single-family homes, apartments and retail shops already exists in those
neighborhoods.
"It's thinking in a different way about the street. Instead of building houses with garage
doors in the front, we put a lot more emphasis on activity along the street -- windows, front porches,
doors, sidewalks and trees -- so the street can be a real amenity," said Shelley Poticha, executive
director for The Congress for the New Urbanism, a non-profit group based in San Francisco that
promotes and monitors new urban development across the United States.
Poticha visited Boise and said Mayor Brent Coles' support of New Urban principles also is
another asset, she said. "He's one of the few mayors who completely gets it," Poticha said. , 1111's
unusual to find a mayor who recognizes that it's important for the city to pay attention to the quality
of the built environment.
Coles, who has a city planning background, has attended the national New Urban
conference in recent years. A well -planned, well -constructed neighborhood can help solve some of
the community's other problems, including youth crime and transportation issues, Coles said.
Neighborhoods where people can walk and homes with front porches and attractive
streetscapes set up more opportunity for neighborhood interaction, Coles said. A -higher density
common in New Urban developments also makes mass transit, including buses and a commuter rail
system, possible, he said.
New Urbanism inside the city
The view from the sidewalk along Apple Street is predominantly wooden fences hiding the
backyards of Southeast Boise homes. But along a block of Apple Street lined with little green lawns,
front porches with benches and flowers break the fence fine. The block of two-story row houses
that extends around the comers of Denise and Wright streets is a project called Urban Renaissance.
It's an example of an infill project that follows some of the tenets of New Urbanism.
Co -developer Scott Beecham, who has previously worked for the Boise planning
department, said he wasn't seeing much creativity in the development applications passing across his
desk. So he partnered with Bill Hodges. The final product: 18 craftsman -style homes on 2.25 acres.
Beecham is now with O'Neill Enterprises, Inc.
. "What I have an interest in is good design. I think that's the biggest benefit of the New
Urbanism movement," Beecham said. "It has raised awareness of design. People don't like driving up
to a three -car garage.
. Unlike the developments that surround Urban Renaissance, where homes are set on looping
streets with large lawns and garages that define the front of the house, Beecharns development faces
the streets. Detached garages are visible only from the alley that loops behind the homes,.'
The 22-foot-wide homes are set on 30-foot-wide lots, with eight feet between the houses.
All have either two or three bedrooms and small front lawns and private back patio areas,
project has been delayed because of building stipulations that require him and Mason to repeatedly
appear before the city. Regulations about shared driveways and other rules requiring balcony
access for every second -floor apartment have been the most recent holdups. Balconies would not
match the architecture of the building, so Mason and Sargent will be asking the city for a variance,
or exception, to the rule.
"The city has done a lot in passing pedestrian commercial zoning," Sargent said. "There are
still a lot of details and specifics that don't fit."
Planning staff and city officials are still working out details in the ordinances that should
clarify the process for approval, Simmons said. "It's a balancing act, and we are still trying to find
out the right set of standards," Simmons said. "(Ideally.), if you follow the ordinance you
don't need to go through a bunch of.discretionary hearings."
But developers should not expect design controls and other building requirements to be
eliminated, Simmons said. "We can't just take out the standards and let them do what they
want. If we do, we are likely to end up with suburban style of development," Simmons said.
Treasure Valley residents can expect to see more New Urban or traditional neighborhood
development, Argent said. "We are seeing traditional neighborhood nationwide. If anything, -
Boise is behind," Mason said. "I don't think it's a gimmick. There's a proven market desire for this."
Harris Ranch and Hidden Springs
Harris Ranch on the eastern edge of the Boise city limits is a. greenfield development
designed to re-create a traditional neighborhood that incorporates single-family homes, duplexes,
apartments and shops. Construction has started in the Miff District, the first New Urban phase of the
Harris Ranch development. About 505 of the 3,500 approved Harris Ranch home sites are in the
Mill District just off Warm Springs Avenue. They will incorporate New Urban principles. Project
Manager Mike Wardle said 36 of the 72 single-family home. sites in the first phase of the MR District
have sold.
"The MR District is a change of mind set. People need to see the MR District before getting
on the bandwagon," Wardle said. Crews have started building homes, and plans have been submitted
for a commercial neighborhood center at the northern edge of the No District. Homes being built
now are narrower and deeper. Garages will be hidden behind the houses and accessed through a
network of alleys. A community center is planned for the center of the Mill District.
The retail area, planned to be built on the northern edge of the NO District, will re-create a
walking Main Street with shops on the first floor and apartments or offices on the second story.
Most of the homes in the Mill District should be within a quarter -mile of the retail center -- the
distance people are willing to walk. Duplexes, townhomes and apartments are in the master plan but
will be grouped together at the edge of the development.
Modular lotting in the Mill District will allow for a diversity in home size and price, Wardle
said. Much of the neighborhood has been subdivided into lots, 16 feet wide at the street, that cost
around $15,000. Home buyers can then purchase as many lots as needed to accommodate the size
home they want to build.
. Wardle said Harris Ranch developers are moving ahead cautiously with New Urban
development to make sure the housing market will support this style of community in the Treasure
Valley. While the conventional Spring Creek district was started at the same time as the Mill
District, sales in Spring Creek have been more brisk, Wardle said.
Like others experimenting with New Urbanism, Harris Ranch staff have spent additional
time planning out the Mill District and dealing with planning staff, agencies and utilities. "I would
just hope the city would be patient enough to do, what they said they would and wait and see how it
works," Wardle said. "I think we will all be pleased that the translation from paper to reality is very