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LEGISLATURE
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IDAHO
Sixty-eighth
Legislature
Second
Regular
Session
-
2026
IN
THE
HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE
BILL
NO.
937
BY
WAYS
AND
MEANS
COMMITTEE
AN
ACT
1
RELATING
TO
LOCAL
LAND
USE
PLANNING;
AMENDING
CHAPTER
65,
TITLE
67,
IDAHO
2
CODE,
BY
THE
ADDITION
OF
A
NEW
SECTION
67
-
6541,
IDAHO
CODE,
TO
ESTABLISH
3
PROVISIONS
FOR
THE
REGULATION
OF
DEVELOPMENT
ON
RELIGIOUS
LAND;
AND
4
DECLARING
AN
EMERGENCY
AND
PROVIDING
AN
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
5
Be
It
Enacted
by
the
Legislature
of
the
State
of
Idaho:
6
SECTION
1.
That
Chapter
65,
Title
67,
Idaho
Code,
be,
and
the
same
is
7
hereby
amended
by
the
addition
thereto
of
a
NEW
SECTION
,
to
be
known
and
des
-
8
ignated
as
Section
67
-
6541,
Idaho
Code,
and
to
read
as
follows:
9
67
-
6541.
REGULATION
OF
DEVELOPMENT
ON
RELIGIOUS
LAND.
(1)
As
used
in
10
this
section:
1
1
(a)
"Heavy
industrial
use"
means
a
storage,
processing,
or
manufactur
-
12
ing
use
that:
13
(i)
Uses
flammable
or
explosive
materials;
14
(ii)
Presents
hazardous
conditions;
or
15
(iii)
Is
noxious
or
offensive
due
to
odors,
smoke,
noise,
fumes,
or
16
vibrations.
17
(b)
"Mixed
-
use"
means
the
use
and
development
of
a
site
consisting
of
18
residential
and
nonresidential
uses
in
which
residential
uses
occupy
at
19
least
sixty
-
five
percent
(65%)
of
the
total
square
footage
of
the
devel
-
20
opment.
21
(c)
"Multifamily"
means
the
use
and
development
of
a
site
for
three
(3)
22
or
more
dwelling
units
within
one
(1)
or
more
buildings,
including
con
-
23
dominiums.
24
(d)
"Religious
land"
means
land
owned
by
a
religious
organization
or
25
land
leased
by
a
religious
organization
for
a
term
of
no
less
than
forty
26
(40)
years.
27
(e)
"Religious
organization"
means
a
nonprofit
religious
entity
or
-
28
ganized
primarily
for
religious
purposes,
including
those
qualifying
29
under
section
501(c)(3)
or
section
501(c)(4)
of
the
Internal
Revenue
30
Code.
31
(2)
This
section
shall
not
apply
to
any
portion
of
religious
land
lo
-
32
cated
within
one
-
quarter
(1/4)
mile
of
a
heavy
industrial
use,
an
airport,
or
33
a
military
base.
34
(3)(a)
A
city
shall
permit
multifamily
and
mixed
-
use
development
as
al
-
35
lowable
uses
on
religious
land.
36
(b)
A
city
shall
not
require
a
zoning
change,
variance,
conditional
use
37
permit,
or
other
special
approval
in
order
to
permit
such
uses
on
reli
-
38
gious
land.
39
(4)
For
multifamily
or
mixed
-
use
development
on
religious
land,
a
city
40
shall
not:
41
2
(a)
Restrict
building
heights
at
or
below
three
(3)
stories
but
may
re
-
1
strict
building
heights
above
three
(3)
stories;
or
2
(b)
Require
the
conversion
of
an
existing
building
to
exceed
the
inter
-
3
national
building
code
standards
otherwise
applicable.
4
(5)
Nothing
in
this
section
shall
be
construed
to
prohibit
a
city
from
5
applying
generally
applicable:
6
(a)
Sewer
and
water
access
requirements;
7
(b)
Stormwater
management
requirements;
or
8
(c)
Building
codes
not
otherwise
restricted
by
this
section.
9
(6)(a)
A
city
shall
approve
an
application
for
a
multifamily
or
mixed
-
10
use
development
on
religious
land
if
it
complies
with
applicable
regu
-
1
1
lations
other
than
those
prohibited
in
subsection
(4)
of
this
section.
12
(b)
Approval
under
this
section
shall
be
ministerial.
13
(7)
Nothing
in
this
section
shall
be
construed
to:
14
(a)
Allow
for
the
building
of
homeless
shelters;
15
(b)
Direct
any
entity
to
approve
a
permit
for
a
homeless
shelter;
or
16
(c)
Infringe
on
any
jurisdiction's
ability
to
regulate
or
prohibit
17
homeless
shelters.
18
(8)
Housing
developments
on
religious
land
provided
for
in
this
section
19
shall
be
subject
to
regular
property
tax
laws
and
shall
not
be
eligible
for
20
property
tax
exemptions
as
provided
in
section
63
-
602B,
Idaho
Code.
21
(9)
Nothing
in
this
section
shall
prohibit
a
city
from
enacting
regula
-
22
tions,
standards,
or
conditions
that
are
less
restrictive
than
the
require
-
23
ments
of
this
section.
24
(10)
The
provisions
of
this
section
shall
apply
to
any
application
for
25
development
on
religious
land
received
by
a
city
on
and
after
July
1,
2026.
26
SECTION
2.
An
emergency
existing
therefor,
which
emergency
is
hereby
27
declared
to
exist,
this
act
shall
be
in
full
force
and
effect
on
and
after
28
July
1,
2026.
29