Objective Design Standards

PROJECT OVERVIEW

What is the Temple City Objective Design Standards Project?

The State of California has recently created new laws to help with the State-wide housing shortage. In 2020, the City applied for and received grant funding under HCD’s SB 2 Planning Grant Program to develop tools that will respond to these new laws. With assistance from RRM Design Group, the City of Temple City will develop objective design standards that will promote high-quality and cohesive architectural design for multiple-family projects.

What are objective design standards?

Objective design standards are clear and measurable, and do not require personal judgment by a public official or decision maker. The new objective design standards created for this project will allow the City to provide clear and consistent direction to guide the design of future multiple-family developments and provide for a clear path to streamlined development review process.

How will the new objective design standards work?

The new objective design standards will replace and improve existing subjective language from the City’s zoning code, specific plans, and design guidelines. Decision makers may continue to review multiple-family projects with existing subjective standards but will not be able to deny a project requesting streamlined processing because it does not meet existing subjective requirements. Existing City documents will still apply to most projects and application types, such as low-density residential, commercial, industrial projects, and multiple-family residential projects not requesting a streamlined objective review.

When will the objective design standards be approved?

The objective design standards were reviewed by the Planning Commission on September 27, 2022. They are scheduled to be reviewed by the City Council on November 15, 2022.