The City of Pleasanton has initiated a process to develop an updated and expanded set of objective design standards for residential development. The intent of this effort is to address recent changes in State law that seek to streamline and increase housing production, focused on making approval processes more routine and predictable for developers. 

A key component of several of these new laws is increased limitations on discretionary review processes, placing an increased emphasis on objective design and development standards as the primary criteria that may be used as the basis for project approval or denial. 

With these new criteria and procedures in place, and expecting the emphasis on objective standards to continue in future legislation, it is in the City’s interest to have a robust body of residential design and development standards (i.e. objective design standards) in place, to ensure that projects deliver high-quality design, appropriate site planning and amenities, and are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and the community, even in the absence of discretionary review. 

The project is anticipated to have two major components:

• Update to the Housing Site Development Standards and Design Guidelines – modify subjective standards in this document such that they are objective.
• Objective Design Standards for Other Types of Residential Development – develop objective design standards for other types of residential development, such as two-, three-, and four-plexes, in addition to considerations for sites that are rezoned as part of the upcoming update to the Housing Element.
  
  

December 9, 2020
Planning Commission Meeting
January 13, 2021