229.02 Affordable Housing Overlay District Established The Affordable Housing Overlay (-AHO) District is established and applies to properties designated by this chapter as suitable for residential uses in addition to any uses permitted and existing in the underlying base zoning district. 229.04 Zoning Map Designator and Applicability
A. The Affordable Housing Overlay shall be illustrated on the zoning map and all property affected shall add an “-AHO” to the base district designator.
B. This chapter shall apply to new multi -family residential projects proposing a minimum of 20 percent of the dwelling units affordable to lower income households as defined by California Health and Safety Code 50079.5, or a successor statute, on sites designated within the Affordable Housing Overlay.
C. Projects that do not propose to meet the affordability provisions of this section shall not be eligible for residential development pursuant to the Affordable Housing Overlay. 229.06 Permitted Uses and Development Standards
A. Permitted Uses. Permitted Uses in the Affordable Housing Overlay district shall be limited to multi -family residential uses subject to the applicability provisions in Section 229.04.
1. Multi-family residential projects meeting the applicability requirements shall be subject to a ministerial review process. Applicants are required to submit a General Planning application for Preliminary Plan Review, accom panied by a fee set by City Council resolution, and including submittal requirements designated by the Community Development Director. The following requirements shall also apply to any application submitted pursuant to the Affordable Housing Overlay:
a. A mitigation measure matrix identifying how a project will comply with/incorporate Program EIR No. 22 -002 mitigation measures is required as part of the submittal application.
b. Subdivisions and deviation requests subject to a Conditional Use Permit or Variance shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of the HBZSO.
c. Development in the Coastal Zone shall require a Coastal Development Permit pursuant to Chapter 245.
d. The applicant shall also obtain a building permit, in addition to any and all other permits required by the Huntington Beach Municipal Code (HBMC). e. The City shall provide notice to property owners within 300 feet upon approval of a project. The applicant shall p rovide a 300 -foot radius map and property owner mailing labels at the time of project submittal.
B. Development Standards . The following schedule prescribes development standards for the Affordable Housing Overlay district designated on the zoning map. The first column establishes the basic requirements. Letters in parentheses in the “Additional Requirements” column refer to additional requirements following the schedule.
C. All required setbacks shall be meas ured from ultimate right -of-way and in accordance with the definitions set forth in Chapter 203, Definitions.
Property Development Standards
AHO Additional
Requirements
Maximum Density 70 dwelling units/acre
Minimum Site Area (acre) 0.5
Minimum Setbacks
Front (ft) 20 (A)(B)
Side (ft.) 10 (B)(G)
Rear (ft.) 10 (B)(G)
Maximum Height of Structures 4 stories (C)
Maximum Building Length (ft.) 180 (D)
Minimum Site Landscaping (%) 8 (E)(F)
Maximum Lot Coverage (%) 75
Minimum Open Space (sq. ft. per unit) 100 (J)
Building Separation (ft.) 20
Lighting (L)
Fences and Walls See Section 230.88
Off-Street Parking and Loading See Ch. 231 (H)
Screening of Mechanical Equipment
(I)
Antenna See Section 230.80
Accessory Structures See Section 230.08
Refuse Storage Areas See Section 230.78 (K)
Underground Utilities See Section 17.64
Performance Standards See Section 230.82
Signs See Ch. 233 (N)
Building Design Standards (O)
Private Storage Space (M)
Affordable Housing Overlay: Additional Development Standards (A) Multiple street frontage lots shall provide front yards on each frontage. (B) Projections Into Setbacks.
(1) See Section 230.68, Building Projections into Yards. (2) Balconies and bay windows may project into required setbacks and usable open space areas subject to Section 230.68, provided that balconies have open railings, glass, or architectural details with openings to reduce visible bulk.
Balconies composed solely of solid enclosures are not allowed to project into required setbacks.
(3) Awnings, canopies, covered walkways, covered patios, and uncovered arcades may project into required setbacks and usable open space areas provided that a minimum five-foot setback is maintained to the property line. (C) Height Requirements. See Section 230.70, Measurement of Height, and Section 230.72, Exceptions to Height Limits.
(1) Story heights shall not exceed 12 feet from interior finished floor to ceiling.
Ground floor residential lobbies, leasing offices, clubhouses, mailrooms, fitness areas, and other common areas shall not exceed 16 feet from floor to ceiling. (2) The number of stories shall include all stories located above finished grade.
Parking podiums extending more than five feet above finished grade shall count as a story. Mezzanines or loft areas covering more than one third of the space of a story shall count as a story.
(D) Maximum Building Length. The maximum building length is 180 feet. (1) A paseo, which provides pedestrian access, shall count as a break in the building length, provided it is a minimum of 10 feet wide and open to the sky for a minimum depth of 20 feet.
(2) A forecourt, with a minimum depth of 40 feet, shall count as a break in the building length.
(E) Planting Areas. With the exception of sidewalks, driveways, pathways and paved outdoor seating areas, required front and street side yards shall be planting areas. (F) Landscape Improvements.
(1) All landscape improvements shall comply with Chapter 232 unless otherwise provided herein.
(2) General Tree Requirements. One 36-inch box tree shall be provided for every 45 lineal feet of street frontage planted within the setback areas adjacent to a street. Specimen palms may be substituted at a ratio of one-half foot brown trunk height for one inch of box tree inch required.
(G) The side and rear yard setback shall be increased an additional five feet when project is adjacent to existing industrial developed property (H) Off-Street Parking and Loading Provisions.
(1) All off-street parking and loading provisions shall comply with Chapter 231 unless otherwise provided herein. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided in accordance with the following:
Off-Street Parking Spaces Required in the Affordable Housing Overlay Residential No. Spaces Required
Studio/One bedroom 1 space per unit
Two bedrooms 2 spaces per unit
Three or more bedrooms 2.5 spaces per unit
Guests 0.5 space per unit
Bicycle Parking Pursuant to Section 231.20
Delivery vehicle 1 space + 1 per 100 units
(2) Parking may be provided in a tandem configuration (3) A parking management plan, subject to review and approval by the Community Development Department, shall be required for all projects. (4) Loading area to accommodate rideshare vehicles and moving trucks and passenger pick-up/drop-off shall be provided on-site.
(I) All exterior mechanical equipment shall be screened from view from the public right of way. Rooftop equipment must be setback a minimum of 10 feet from building walls, screened on all sides, and integrated into the overall building design. Picket fencing, chain link fencing and exposed sheet metal enclosures are not permitted. A mechanical equipment plan shall be submitted to the Community Development Department to ensure compliance with this provision.
(J) Open Space Requirements.
(1) The minimum open space area (private and common) shall be 100 square feet per residential unit. For purposes of this subsection, open space shall mean an area which is designed and intended to be used for active or passive recreation.
Open space may consist of private and/or common areas. Parking areas, access aisles, and driveways shall not qualify as usable open space. (2) Private Open Space.
(a) Private open space shall be provided in porches, patios, or balconies within which a horizontal rectangle has no dimension less than six feet for porches and patios and four feet for balconies.
(b) At least 50% of the dwelling units shall be provided a minimum of 60 square feet of private open space.
(c) Private open space shall be contiguous to the unit and for the exclusive use of the occupants. Private open space shall not be accessible to any dwelling unit except the unit it serves and shall be physically separated from common areas by a wall or hedge at least 42 inches in height. (3) Common Open Space.
(a) Common open space, provided by interior side yards, patios, courtyards, terraces, and rooftop decks, shall be designed so that no dimension is less than 10 feet, shall be open to the sky, and shall not include driveways or parking areas.
(b) Projects with more than 20 units shall include at least one amenity, such as a clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis court, volleyball court, outdoor cooking facility, dog park or other recreation facility. Such common amenity spaces shall count toward the common open space requirement.
(K) Refuse Storage Areas. See Section 230.78. Every property shall provide trash and recycling enclosures or areas within a building that are capable of handling the refuse generated by that site.
(L) Lighting. Lighting shall be provided in all projects along all vehicular accessways and major walkways. Lighting shall be directed onto the driveways and walkways within the development and away from adjacent properties. A lighting plan shall be submitted for approval by the Director.
(M) Private Storage Space. At least 50% of the units shall have a minimum of 50 cubic feet of private storage space provided outside such unit. Such private storage space shall be fully enclosed and lockable.
(N) See Chapter 233, Signs—Residential, for applicable provisions related to signs. (O) Building Design Standards. Buildings in the Affordable Housing Overlay shall be designed in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) A horizontal articulation along the top and base of the building shall be provided on all sides, except where building wall to building wall clearance is five feet or less.
(a) Top. An architectural feature or treatment shall be incorporated along the top of the uppermost floor of the façade. Top features can include a cornice, canopy, a shaped or capped parapet, or a façade offset. Fabric or canvas awnings shall not count as a top feature/treatment.
(b) Base. An architectural feature or treatment shall be applied along the lower part of the building within the first floor façade to form the base. A base shall be created by using any one or a combination of the following:
(i) A visibly thicker and continuous base portion of the wall along the ground, where the wall above the base is set back.
(ii) A material and/or color change of the base wall relative to the building wall above.
(iii) A horizontal architectural feature at or below the top of the first story, such as an intermediate cornice line or protruding horizontal band. (2) A major façade offset, which is a substantial vertical plane break in a façade, shall be provided. The depth of a major façade offset shall be a minimum of five percent of the width of the largest adjacent horizontal façade segment. (3) A substantial recess/notch in the façade shall be provided with a minimum width of five feet and a minimum depth of three feet.
(4) A façade composition change, which results in a substantial change in architectural elements on adjacent segments of an otherwise flat façade, shall be provided. To qualify as a façade composition change, a change in roof form and a roofline height variation between adjacent building volumes shall be utilized in addition to at least one of the following features:
(a) A prominent central feature such as a balcony, bay window, porch or portico
(b) Change in wall cladding materials and colors
(c) Change in window pattern/form
(5) All buildings shall have a four-sided architectural design incorporating architectural treatments, materials, and finishes used on the street facing facade, on all other building facades.
(6) Main Entrances shall incorporate one or more of the following treatments:
(a) A tower or other taller visually prominent feature (b) Architectural accent elements, such as columns, overhanging roofs, awnings, and ornamental light fixtures
(c) A recessed entry or recessed bay in the façade incorporating differentiated paving materials, ornamental ceiling treatments, decorative light fixtures, and attractive decorative door pulls, escutcheons, hinges, and other hardware
(d) Covered entrance utilizing a projecting canvas or fabric awning, or permanent architectural canopy utilizing materials from the primary building. 229.08 Affordable Units
A. For purposes of calculating the number of affordable units required, resulting fractional units shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
B. All affordable units shall be provided on-site.
C. The provisions of Section 230.26. (D) and (F) of the HBZSO shall apply to all residential projects proposed pursuant to this section.
D. Projects that meet the affordability provisions of this section shall be eligible for density bonus in accordance with State Density Bonus Law.
229.10 Sunset Clause
This ordinance will sunset, unless otherwise extended by the City Council, when the City meets its lower and moderate income RHNA allocation, or on January 1, 2030, whichever occurs first. Approved projects and projects in process shall be exempt from this section pursuant to Section 202.12.