In today’s polarized political environment, it’s hard to imagine four out of five voters anywhere agreeing on much of anything. Let alone to tax themselves.
But that’s exactly what happened last fall in Boise, Idaho. An $11 million levy to pay for new parks, pathways and protected open space appeared on the November ballot, with the average homeowner’s property tax bill set to rise by $40 annually for two years. And it passed with a staggering 81 percent of the vote.
For Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, the levy vote was a win built on many others related to parks and open space. As a volunteer 25 years ago, McLean led Boise’s first successful campaign for a local tax to fund land preservation in the foothills where she goes trail running. A second levy passed in 2015.
Now as mayor, McLean is driving toward an ambitious new goal: ensuring that every Boise resident can walk to a park within 10 minutes. Her administration has made notable progress, using the levy funds to make strategic investments. In 2017, about 60 percent of Boise residents could easily walk to a park. That’s now up to 74 percent.
“We’ve demonstrated time and again that Boiseans will vote for values,” McLean tells Governing. “And we see value in access to open space, parks and pathways. We understand that it’s an investment in our kids today and our grandkids tomorrow. And we back that up with our votes and our dollars.”
McLean’s approach to parks offers a few lessons to local leaders around the country. One is that having a dedicated source of funding enables Boise to pounce quickly when opportunities arise. In 2022, a local irrigation district donated to the city three acres of scrubland alongside a canal. When neighbors asked to turn the land into a linear park with a pathway along the canal, the city had the levy funds available to make it happen. “It was a great example of what we can do with this next levy,” McLean says.
Second, having a clear and measurable goal provides city leaders with a strategic framework for planning park investments. The Trust for Public Land — which encourages cities across the country to adopt the 10-minute walk goal — gave Boise digital mapping tools to identify infill opportunities in underserved areas. For example, in suburban West Boise, the city was able to purchase two small parcels of less than an acre each to put nearly 6,000 more residents within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Finally, McLean has found that the 10-minute goal is one that’s easy to communicate, and for residents to understand and rally around. It’s galvanized support from private donors, who have stepped up to contribute land toward the goal. And it’s given the people who work for and represent local government a clear way to make immediate and tangible benefits to residents’ quality of life. “Every parent wants their kids to be able to go out the front door and walk to a park,” McLean says. “We repeat this goal almost daily, and I hear it in the community almost daily.”
