Five-foot driveway landscaping buffer requirement for single-family homes
Boise
Summary
Boise code requires a 5-foot-wide landscaping and screening strip alongside residential driveways, but the section defining what goes in that strip exempts single-family homes. The Hearing Examiner ruled the buffer itself still stands, settling how the code will be applied to new single-family driveways citywide.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 2
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Sep 14, 2026.
Impact analysis
Homeowners building new driveways may need to set aside a 5-foot strip along the property line, which can shrink the usable driveway footprint.
The city gains consistent enforcement of driveway buffer standards; neighbors get a landscaped strip instead of pavement to the property line.
Homeowners and builders who hoped to extend driveways to the property line without a landscaping strip.
Mentions & discussions (2)
Hearing Examiner - Regular Meeting — September 14, 2026
Boise code requires a 5-foot-wide landscaping and screening strip alongside residential driveways, but the section defining what goes in that strip exempts single-family homes. The Hearing Examiner ruled the buffer itself still stands, settling how the code will be applied to new single-family driveways citywide.
City Council - Work Session — February 10, 2026
Two years in, the new zoning code appears to be working: 1,962 housing units were approved in 2025, 65% of them in downtown, transit corridors and activity centers, with big jumps in ADUs and administrative approvals. Council members asked for the data in advance next time and more metrics on planning timelines.
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