TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Jarad Hildenbrand, City Manager
FROM: Russell Bunim, Community Development Director
1. SUBJECT
title
Progress update regarding the 2025 Design Review Committee (DRC) Ordinance No. 18-25
body
2. SUMMARY
The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 18-25 on October 28, 2025, thereby modifying the duties and responsibilities of the Design Review Committee (DRC), focusing on projects in historic districts, or involving historic structures outside of a district, to streamline the review process and ensure timely decision-making for projects subject to design review.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Receive and file.
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4. FISCAL IMPACT
None.
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
Goal 2: Enhance Economic Development and Achieve Fiscal Sustainability
Objective 2.2: Improve Design Review Process
Objective 2.12: Update Zoning Ordinance for process clarity and improve efficiency for new businesses
6. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND
Ordinance No. 18-25 was adopted on October 28, 2025, and became effective on December 12, 2025. The Ordinance modified the Orange Municipal Code by creating a "Historic Threshold" by which development projects would be evaluated to determine whether a design review application was processed administratively by staff or processed through the Design Review Committee.
The City Council requested on the date of adoption that staff return in six months to report on the impact of Ordinance No. 18-25 as it relates to the timely processing of development projects. Staff is pleased to report that the Ordinance has had two major positive outcomes:
1. Reduction in entitlement processing time; and
2. Marketing a streamlined design review process
Entitlement Processing
The OMC requires that when more than one type of application is filed for a single project, the application requiring the highest level of approval shall dictate the review process for the entire group of applications (OMC Table ...
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