The City Council approved a professional services agreement on Tuesday for the preparation of a project that will strengthen local control over the design of future multifamily housing and mixed-use development in the city’s Village and Barrio areas. These actions are one way the city can help preserve the unique character of these areas while complying with new state laws designed to streamline approval of multifamily housing to help ease California’s housing crisis.
Under the agreement and the charter approved by the City Council on Tuesday, Carlsbad will:
Form a committee to include two Village residents, two Barrio residents, a downtown business owner, a member of the city’s Planning Commission, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, and two people with experience developing multifamily housing and/or mixed-use projects in Carlsbad
Work with residents and the new Design Review Committee to make sure existing design guidelines that are subjective and open to interpretation are written in objective language that helps preserve the community’s character and complies with the new state laws
Create a streamlined permitting process for multifamily and mixed-use projects
Create five different architectural design styles for developers to choose from
Examples of subjective design standards and guidelines could include the following language:
“Special care shall be taken to avoid obstructing views.”
“Produce high quality authentic design.”
“Reflect look and feel of the community.”
In each of these cases, more detail would be needed so the standard can be uniformly applied, without relying on the subjective judgement of decision makers.
According to Eric Lardy, the city’s principal planner, the project to create objective design standards will not include changes to existing objective design standards such as building heights or setbacks. It also only applies to future condos, apartments and mixed-used projects. Lardy also said some of the recently completed projects in the Village and Barrio were approved prior to the approval of the Village and Barrio Master Plan, which includes provisions to protect community character through building design.
The city is working on a similar project to create objective design standards for areas outside of the Village and Barrio. The City Council voted to separate the two projects so Carlsbad’s two oldest neighborhoods could receive special attention.
Next Steps
Applications to serve on the Design Review Committee are available now and must be submitted to the City Clerk’s office by noon on Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. All committee members must be a City of Carlsbad resident and registered voter. Additional guidelines for serving on the committee are available on the city’s website. The committee should be formed by January 2022.
In addition to the committee’s work, which will be conducted in public with opportunities for community input, community members will have other opportunities to share feedback, such as an online survey and public meetings. Once a draft is ready, it will also be available for public review and comment.
The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2023.
Staff Contact
Shelley Glennon, Associate Planner
shelley.glennon@carlsbadca.gov
760-602-4605
