TO: Chair and Members of the Planning Commission
THRU: Anna Pehoushek, Assistant Community Development Director
FROM: Robert Garcia, Senior Planner
1. Subject
title
Public Hearing to consider an ordinance to establish Objective Design Standards for certain qualifying housing projects and finding of CEQA exemption.
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2. Summary
An ordinance adopting Objective Design Standards by reference in Title 17 for qualified housing projects.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 29-24. A Resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Orange recommending that the City Council of the City of Orange adopt Objective Design Standards for qualified housing projects.
2. Find the ordinance categorically exempt from CEQA based on a Class 15378 exemption.
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4. AUTHORIZING GUIDELINES
Orange Municipal Code Section 17.08.020 authorizes the Planning Commission to review and make advisory recommendations to the City Council on Zoning Ordinance Amendments.
5. project background
As State Housing Law continues to evolve, multi-family housing projects with qualifying housing components are increasingly required to be ministerially approved. Specific state laws include, but are not limited to:
1. Senate Bill (SB) 35, that requires the availability of a streamlined ministerial approval process for developments in localities that have not yet made sufficient progress towards their allocation of the Regional Housing Need Assessment (RHNA) fair share.
2. Assembly Bill (AB) 2162 that requires that supportive housing be a use that is permitted by right in zones where multifamily and mixed-use development is permitted.
3. SB 4 that allows faith-based institutions and non-profit colleges to build affordable, multi-family homes by streamlining the permitting process and overriding local zoning restrictions.
4. AB 2011 that allows for ministerial, by-right approval for affordable housing on commercially zoned lands, and also allows such approvals for mixed-income housing along commercial corridors, as long as the projects meet specified affordability, labor, and environmental criteria.
Despite the ministerial approval requirement, state law allows the city to apply adopted Objective Design Standards (ODS) to a project brought forward under these laws before it can proceed to building permits (Attachment 1).
6. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Orange Municipal Code (OMC) contains objective development standards (e.g., setbacks, height limits, floor area ratio) but has very few design standards that are objective. The city regularly relies on subjective design guidelines and a discretionary design review process to determine the adequacy and contextual appropriateness of project design. Under state law, this approach can no longer be utilized for multi-family development applications with a qualifying housing component. Hence, creation of ODS will enable the city to review such applications while retaining the ability to direct the design of new residential development.
The ODS establish the following:
• Site planning standards regulating building orientation, site layout, site access, parking lots and courts, and trash enclosures.
• Standards specific to landscaping, open space requirements for common and private open space, site lighting, and walls and fences.
• Building design standards such as, but not limited to, general building form, building height and massing, façade articulation, roof forms, and placement of doors, entryways, and windows.
• Architectural standards for distinct styles which specify criteria in areas such as architectural features, roof, materials and colors, doors and windows, and decorative details.
The ODS are intended to provide the city with a mechanism to be able to apply design standards to eligible multi-family housing development throughout the city, including historic districts. In doing so, the ODS have been crafted to support both the streamlining of housing production to improve affordability and maintaining the high quality of new development that the Orange community and future occupants deserve and expect. In the instance of a conflict between the standards in this document and those in the OMC, the ODS document shall prevail.
As state housing laws continue to evolve, some of these qualifying housing projects can be located in nonresidential zoning districts. Staff would have the ability to apply the ODS in nonresidential zones should the city receive a qualifying development on such a property.
The ODS are organized around three categories of development scenarios:
• Multi-family development in residential or nonresidential zones
• Multi-family development in mixed use zones (as stand-alone residential development or residential development that is part of a mixed use project)
• Multi-family development in the Old Towne Historic District
In the case of the first two categories, ODS specific to multi-family projects have been customized, building off of existing design and development standards, and lessons learned from the physical environment resulting from recently implemented projects.
ODS specific to multi-family or mixed-use projects occurring in the Old Towne Historic District build upon, and increase objectivity of, the Historic Preservation Design Standards.
Any housing development applications ineligible for ministerial processing would continue to require the city’s standard discretionary review process.
7. DISCUSSION
The ODS are intended to keep the city in compliance with state law as housing legislation continues to evolve. Without the ODS, the city would be very limited in its ability to apply design standards to eligible multi-family housing development and maintain high quality development throughout the city. The ODS assist in the implementation of the adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element by addressing Housing Policy Action 2E: Facilitate Infill Construction, in that the adopting of the ODS provides a ministerial process for future qualifying projects.
Old Towne Preservation Association:
On October 2, 2024, city staff met with representatives of the Old Towne Preservation Association (OTPA) and reviewed revisions made to the document in response to input received at the DRC meeting. Background information about the need for, and applicability of, ODS to historic properties was discussed.
8. public notice
On October 10, 2024, a notice was published in the Anaheim Bulletin newspaper for a public hearing before the Planning Commission on October 21, 2024.
9. environmental review
Categorical Exemption: This Ordinance is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 (Common Sense Exemption), because it involves administrative activities of the city that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
10. ADVISORY BOARD ACTION
Design Review Committee:
On March 20, 2024, the Design Review Committee (DRC) reviewed and provided feedback on the draft ODS. The Committee’s and public feedback were evaluated and factored into the revised draft ODS. A summary of the revisions to the draft ODS based on the DRC’s comments is attached to the staff report (Attachment 4).
11. ATTACHMENTS
• Attachment 1 - Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 29-24 with attached Draft Ordinance and Objective Design Standards
• Attachment 2 - Design Review Committee Staff Report, March 20, 2024
• Attachment 3 - Design Review Committee Meeting Minutes, March 20, 2024
• Attachment 4 - Summary of Revisions in Response to Design Review Committee Feedback