Arbor Village, a Boise assisted living facility, applied to convert the home of about 90 elderly residents into 77 apartments. Doing so requires a conditional use permit, which is subject to approval before the city. Despite its application, the company sent mixed messages about its plans to residents, telling some that it was a contingency plan and that they did not intend to redevelop the site, according to residents and family members testified at public meetings about the project.
In October of 2022, the City Council found that correct notice had not been provided and required the owners to hold a new neighborhood meeting about the site. That sent it back to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which held a new public hearing in February of 2023.
At that hearing, the commission imposed strict new conditions: If the owners chose to turn the site into apartments, it would need to give tenants a year of notice; identify new housing for each tenant and pay for relocation expenses; and be responsible for any higher difference in rent for three years.
Intermountain Fair Housing Council also appealed the decision, arguing that the city did not adequately consider the impacts the proposed project would have on the vulnerable residents, many of whom have disabilities. IFHC said the city did not consider its local authority, multiple federal laws and “the city’s moral and ethical responsibility via its broad police powers to uphold the health, welfare and safety for the residents of Boise.”
