The Comprehensive Plan: Components and Amendments

The comprehensive plan is the document most people never read and everyone quotes. Idaho Code 67-6508 makes the planning or planning and zoning commission responsible for a planning process that prepares, carries out, reviews and updates it. The plan has to cover all land in the jurisdiction. It has to consider past and present conditions, trends, how land uses fit together, goals, and where the community wants to end up.

Planners shorten the name to "comp plan." This lesson uses the full name, because the full name is the one in the statute and the one a judge will read.

What the plan must cover

Section 67-6508 lists the components a plan must be based on "as they may apply," with maps, charts and reports. A component can be skipped only if the plan itself gives reasons it is not needed. As of October 2026 the list runs from (a) to (q), plus a groundwater duty in (r):

The statute closes by saying nothing stops a community from adding more components. Plenty do: water, energy, wildfire, historic downtowns.

Why a missing component matters

The Idaho Supreme Court has said a valid comprehensive plan is a precondition to valid zoning. If the plan is missing a required component without explanation, a rezone that depends on it can fall. That rule came up in a real case involving one of the largest projects ever proposed in rural Idaho.

In 2009 a company called Alternate Energy Holdings contracted for about 5,000 acres in Payette County for a proposed nuclear power plant. A neighboring landowner argued the county plan lacked the "general plans" for power plant sites that 67-6508(h) requires. The county responded by amending its plan to say energy producers must apply and each application would be considered individually under LLUPA, the county code and the plan. In 2015 the Supreme Court held that was enough. The statute asks for general plans, the court reasoned, and it would be nearly impossible to plan in detail for every kind of power plant someone might propose.

How much weight the plan carries

Zoning must follow the plan. Idaho Code 67-6511 says zoning districts "shall be in accordance with the policies" of the adopted plan, and when a rezone request conflicts with the plan, the governing board can send it back for a plan amendment first. A conditional use permit cannot be granted if it conflicts with the plan (67-6512).

Still, the plan guides zoning. It does not replace the zoning map. Idaho Association of Counties training materials describe it as a "strong guide," and cite Bone v. City of Lewiston for the point that a plan designation does not guarantee an owner a matching zone. Courts look at whether a decision is in accordance with the plan as a whole, not whether every sentence in every chapter lines up.

Adopting and amending the plan

Idaho Code 67-6509 sets the steps. They apply to a brand new plan, an amendment and a repeal.

1. Commission hearing. At least one public hearing. Notice of time, place and a summary goes in the official newspaper at least 15 days ahead. The commission must also offer a notice to other papers, radio and TV as a public service announcement.
2. Notice to service providers. At least 15 days ahead, notice of intent goes to every political subdivision providing services in the jurisdiction, including school districts and the manager of the local public airport.
3. Material change. If the commission recommends a material change after its hearing, it must give notice and hold another hearing, unless the governing board will hold its own hearing. Then the board's notice must include the commission's recommendation.
4. Board action. The governing board may hold its own hearing with the same notice. It cannot hold a hearing, give notice of one, or act at all until the commission's recommendation arrives.
5. Adoption by resolution. The plan takes effect only when the governing board adopts it by resolution. A copy goes on file with the clerk.

Anyone can petition for a plan amendment at any time, under 67-6509(4), unless the governing board has set a minimum interval between requests by resolution. That interval cannot exceed six months. The commission can recommend amendments whenever it wants.

New state mandates that reach into the plan

The Legislature sometimes orders every plan to say something. Idaho Code 67-6509A requires plans and rules to allow manufactured homes where single-family homes are allowed. Two 2026 laws go further for cities over 10,000 people. Idaho Code 67-6541 bars them from banning accessory dwelling units in residential zones. The starter home law, passed as Senate Bill 1352 and printed as 67-6541 [67-6542] because two new sections got the same number, bars them from banning starter home subdivisions. Both require those cities to amend their plans and land use rules by February 1, 2027. Expect a wave of plan amendment hearings this winter.