One Map, Different Layers

A site sits inside several layers at once. Watch zoning, streets, water, parks, and buildings arrive in the same view to see which features overlap.

This example uses downtown Boise. Every layer shares the same geographic coordinates and map position. Pause on a combination. Hover or tap a feature to inspect its source.

The zoning layer differs in kind from the other four. Idaho law has a city set its zoning districts by ordinance (Idaho Code §67-6511), and Boise's code places every district boundary on its Official Zoning Map (Boise City Code §11-02-01). The code's text says what each district allows; only the map says which district a parcel is in. Moving a boundary takes a zoning map amendment, adopted as an ordinance: ORD-34-26, for one, moved a Lancaster Drive parcel from R-2 to R-1B. The streets, water, parks, and buildings here are reference data; the zoning map is the land-use rule itself.

The map shows the relationship between features. The source rules and site conditions determine what those relationships mean for a development.