BOISE, Idaho — A developer got approval to move forward with plans to convert an assisted living facility in Boise into apartments, again. However, this time they will have to meet several new conditions to make sure the residents forced to move out are taken care of.
Arbor Village is a complex with 92 residents on the Boise Bench. Its owners, California-based DiNapoli Capital Partners, first brought the project before Boise Planning and Zoning last April.
A conditional use permit was approved at that time, but was sent to the city council after a resident appealed the zoning decision. Council found that Arbor Village's owners failed to notify residents of the permit and hearing.
The application was pushed back to the Planning and Zoning Commission, that discussed the conditional use permit during its February 13 meeting.
The conditional use permit was approved by Planning and Zoning for the second time. But three new conditions were added:
- The developer must give residents one year to find housing
- The developer must pay for resident's relocation expenses
- The developer must pay residents for the difference in monthly rent for three years, or pay a lump sum to residents.
"The commission often adds conditions to approvals like this," Tim Keane, director of planning for the City of Boise said. "In this case, they heard from a lot of residents at Arbor Village. Many letters were sent, people that live there came and spoke at the hearing. As a result of that, they felt these conditions were absolutely necessary to help the people that live there now."
The new conditions were added to assist the senior population living at Arbor Village transition to new housing.
"There's the zoning case - which is a conditional use permit, and that's kind of a technical thing that they have to deal with. But then there's the human condition, the people that live there and how vulnerable they are," Keane said. "The Commission was expecting that this new owner would help them, and come in and provide the resources they need to make this transition. So the commission spoke a lot about how vulnerable the residents here are, and how important it is that we as a city do what we must to help them."
In the planning and zoning commission meeting on Monday, DiNapoli Capital said economic conditions like COVID, inflation, and changes in the labor market drove expenses up. The firm says it has lost $1.5 million on Arbor Village since 2020.
"It's a terrible, unfortunate situation. But the reality is that for business to be sustainable, revenue has to cover costs," Michael Sieman, the vice president of DiNapoli Capital said during the meeting.
Planning and Zoning voted 5 to 1 in favor of the permit - with its new conditions.
"There's a lot of discussion in Boise about housing and the fact that we need more housing - and that's absolutely the case," Keane said "But a more important consideration for the city of Boise is people that are vulnerable to displacement in cases where properties are changing hands, and where redevelopment is happening. And it's great that we have a city and a process that takes into account people that need help. And that's what happened in this case."
The developers could appeal the case back to Boise City Council. If that were to happen, council would have a hearing and make a final decision on the permit.
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