BOISE, Idaho — After almost 9 hours of public testimony, the Boise Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted Monday night to approve Interfaith Sanctuary's conditional use permit for their new location on State Street.
A permit for the new location was approved by the Boise City Council in 2022 after it was initially denied by the Planning and Zoning Commission. However, the decision was overruled by the Idaho Supreme Court, which ruled that the city had overstepped in the appeals process.
In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the City of Boise announced it would update the appeals process to give Boise City Council the final vote. This change meant the city council could once again approve the permit if it were denied a second time by the commission.
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Interfaith Sanctuary has since submitted a new conditional use permit, which was presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday. Executive Director of Interfaith Sanctuary Jodi Peterson-Stigers said her team felt more confident going into the meeting.
"I knew that we better understood what Planning and Zoning needed from us this time," Peterson-Stigers said, adding they were missing some information and plans regarding security in their first application, which have since been addressed.
With an approved conditional use permit, Interfaith will be able to begin building the inside of the new location, including the dorms where guests would sleep, which had been put on hold after the Supreme Court decision.
The approval also means the shelter can once again start accepting donations to finish funding construction at the new site — the shelter still needs roughly $5 million.
Peterson-Stigers says that Interfaith Sanctuary is still on track to host a ribbon-cutting at the new State Street location sometime in October.
