TO: HONORABLE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE PLANNING
COMMISSION
FROM: Carl Stiehl, City Planner
PREPARED BY: Dennis Watts, Senior Planner
SUBJECT:
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Workshop - Residential Objective Design Standards Update
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RECOMMENDATION
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Receive a workshop presentation by staff regarding the current draft of the City's grant-funded Residential Objective Design Standards Update, provide input, comments, and/or ask questions of staff and the consultant team, and accept public comments.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Planning Division is initiating its first update to the City's Residential Objective Design Standards ("ODS") (Adopted September 2023) to also include Single Family, Accessory Dwelling Unit, and Duplex/Triplex design standards, and to amend various existing Multi-Family design standards. The update is in response to annual changes in state legislation to facilitate residential housing, identifying current gaps in the ODS, and input from the development community. The City is utilizing a state funded grant program (REAP 2.0) to have a professional design consultant, Placeworks, assist with the update at no cost to the City.
BACKGROUND
Over the past five years, the State has been amending state law to accelerate residential development by removing city discretion over design review. Cities only retain local control over housing project design through the adoption of objective design standards for residential development. On September 5, 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance 595-23, which adopted the Multi-Family Residential and Mixed Use Residential Objective Design Standards (ODS). The City benefited from a grant by the State (LEAP Grant) to hire a consultant, Placeworks, to prepare the ODS and corresponding code amendments, at no cost the City at the time.
As the State continues to pass more legislation amending state laws to help facilitate housing development, staff is initiating the firs...
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