New standards could lead to more mixed-use in Citrus Heights

By Phillip Pesola–
The Citrus Heights City Council last month voted to adopt citywide design standards for new housing projects which qualify for a streamlined application process under California law.

The Sentinel previously reported in March last year that the California legislature had previously passed AB 2011, allowing housing in commercial zones, and SB 6, which promotes higher-density residential projects. The state had also introduced laws which require expedited review of qualified housing projects and limit jurisdictional discretion to objective standards.

Objective Design and Development Standards, as defined by state law, “involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion.” These standards are a key component of housing legislation, as they replace subjective design guidelines and discretionary review with objective standards and ministerial approval.

These state laws led to the City of Citrus Heights enacting objective development standards within the Auburn Boulevard Specific Plan area last year.

During the council’s Feb. 8 meeting last month, Alison Bermudez of the Planning Division addressed the City Council regarding proposed adoption of objective design and development standards across the city. The standards aim to provide measurable criteria for zoning and development of multi-family projects or mixed-use projects, which combine commercial and residential elements.

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The criteria are a part of an effort to align local codes with state housing legislation, which has increasingly emphasized the need for objective criteria in housing project assessment. The standards are intended to expedite the application review process for housing projects that qualify under specific state legislative actions.

Bermudez explained that the standards would apply to multifamily and mixed-use projects seeking a streamlined process through compliance with state laws, by providing prevailing wages or using unionized workers, for example. Any projects not seeking such streamlining would be assessed under the existing process.

The citywide standards, like those created for Auburn Boulevard, categorize commercial areas into zones, each with tailored development standards based on the commercial area’s intended purpose. These zones, identified as “neighborhood” and “main street,” differ in allowed heights, densities, and other development criteria, reflecting the scale and character of various commercial districts.

Some elements that would be encouraged by the new standards include visual relief, articulation, and buildings that are broken up rather than monolithic.

Bermudez highlighted the importance of the objective design standards in achieving desired architectural and community outcomes, explaining that the goal of adopting them is to ensure that new projects contribute positively to the city’s vision and character, particularly along key corridors like Auburn Boulevard.

Concluding her presentation, Bermudez recommended the adoption of the objective criteria in order to comply with state law while maintaining the city’s own development goals.

One written public comment was read, which supported the adoption of the new standards.

Before the vote, Councilmember Time Schaefer asked, “What happens if we don’t pass this?” Bermudez explained that a developer could potentially apply using the state’s streamlined process and design a visually unappealing building, and the city would be unable to deny the application by citing an objective standard.

Casey Kempenaar also noted that the City of Elk Grove is currently involved in a lawsuit with a developer and the State of California over objective design standards, and said that implementing such standards could prevent Citrus Heights from being in a similar situation.

Ultimately, the council members voted four to one to adopt the new design standards. Mayor Bret Daniels was the only “no” vote.

“I’m going to symbolically vote no, because I just don’t like the state requiring us to do these kinds of things,” said Daniels.