Agenda Item: 1
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
PUBLIC HEARINGS
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: August 25, 2026
SUBJECT: MULTIFAMILY AND MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS (MASTER CASE 26-038) - FIRST READING
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: Zarui Chaparyan
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Conduct the public hearing.
2. Find the Multifamily and Mixed-Use Residential Objective Design Standards project and Santa Clarita Municipal Code amendments exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), the common-sense exemption.
3. Approve a resolution entitled: “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING CITY-WIDE OBJECTIVE
DESIGN STANDARDS (ODS) FOR QUALIFIED MULTIFAMILY AND MIXED-USE
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH CALIFORNIA LAW.”
4. Introduce an ordinance entitled: “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 17.06.130, 17.11.020, 17.23.100, AND 17.37.030 TO IMPLEMENT REGULATIONS GOVERNING OBJECTIVE DESIGN STANDARDS,” and pass to second reading.
BACKGROUND
Recent State of California (State) housing laws, including Senate Bill (SB) 330, SB 35 and Assembly Bill 2011, limit the City of Santa Clarita’s (City) ability to enforce subjective
standards on proposed housing developments. Therefore, the City needs to adopt Objective Design Standards (ODS or standards), to ensure that new multifamily and mixed-use residential projects are reviewed under measurable and verifiable criteria, allowing the City to continue to enforce architectural and site planning standards within the City. The State’s intent is to streamline the approval process, in order to increase development of multifamily and mixed-use housing types.
To comply with State law and the City’s Housing Element (HE), the City proposes changes to the Community Character and Design Guidelines (CCDG or guidelines) adopted by the City Council in 2009, to develop citywide multifamily and mixed-use ODS, and changes to the Santa Clarita Municipal Code (SCMC), that addresses administrative procedures to implement these standards.
These standards will provide the City with as much flexibility as possible during the review process, ensure quality architecture and site design in projects, all while removing subjectivity from the review process. To the extent feasible, the ODS will:
1. Continue to produce development projects that meet the City’s high standards for architecture;
2. Be consistent with the community character previously established by the City Council;
3. Provide a streamlined review process for applicants;
4. Be consistent with the City’s HE of the General Plan; and
5. Meet the requirements of the State housing law.
City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element
The City’s certified HE identifies programs to help the City reach its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 10,031 new units. Specific to ODS and the proposed municipal code, amendments are:
• HP-2.1: Zoning Code Changes for Consistency with State Law. To support the City in reaching its RHNA allocation, this program includes adoption of ODS for multifamily and mixed-use projects.
• HP-2.2: Updates to Administrative Procedures. These changes would be implemented through amendments to the SCMC, to remove the City’s discretionary findings requirement for site suitability for multifamily and mixed-use housing projects.
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant
The City used a $250,000 SCAG REAP grant, that was authorized by the City Council on October 8, 2024. RRM Design Group (RRM) was selected through a competitive bid process and funds were appropriated by the City Council on May 13, 2025, to allow preparation of the ODS.
There is no impact to the general fund.
Stakeholder and Development Committee Meetings
Similar to other projects, the City held two stakeholder meetings in January 2026, with members of the local development community to introduce the intent of ODS and obtain feedback for the creation of a practical and implementable document. Additionally, on May 1, 2026, the City held a Development Committee meeting to discuss the proposed ODS and associated code amendments.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The proposed ODS for multifamily and mixed-use development will help the City maintain local control over project design, while preserving the established community characteristics. The 2009 City Council adopted CCDG establishes the architectural character for the communities of Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, and Newhall. With RRM, City staff has identified key design guidelines of the CCDG and proposes to standardize 63 of the guidelines to ODS.
The modifications also require that architectural and design elements and styles included in each of the City’s communities must be incorporated into multifamily and mixed-use projects. The proposed ODS are limited to policy and regulatory guidance and will not result in any physical development or construction. Design guidelines for commercial, industrial, and single-family development projects were not changed, and ODS does not apply to them. However, existing guidelines remain in place and will be applied as current practice.
The 99 remaining non-objective guidelines for multifamily and mixed-use housing will allow design flexibility and creativity, but cannot be mandated on such housing projects. Objective design standards are minimum thresholds, and are proposed to:
1. Create objectivity by removing terms like “shall” or “should” and adding “must” and “required” to the guidelines to mandate the standard.
2. Provide a menu of options for applicants to choose from to comply with a standard.
3. Provide standalone, clear, measurable objectives that must be achieved.
After publication of the Planning Commission Agenda Report, staff identified a couple minor modifications to the ODS as noted in Figure 1 below. These changes were recommended to be made as a part of the Planning Commission action on the project and include the following strikethrough and underlined text.
Figure 1: Proposed ODS Examples
Objective Design Standard CCDG Existing Guideline
Roof lines must not extend horizontally more
than 40 55 feet in length without a two-foot
variation in height.
Roof lines should be varied in height, and long
horizontal roof lines should be broken up.
Facades of commercial uses on the ground
floor facing either the street, public area (plaza
or courtyard, or primary entrance oriented
towards a parking area must be a minimum 75
percent transparent through the use of
windows, doors, and storefronts.
The vertical plane of the building façade
should be broken up with a high level of
articulation (e.g., projecting entry or window
features, recessed elements, transparent
storefronts, identifiable retail spaces, and
awning and entrance canopies), especially at
ground level.
The final version of the ODS are attached to this report.
Review Process and Opt-Out Provision
Projects that meet all of the ODS will be limited to an Architectural Design Review (ADR) and Development Review (DR) to ensure consistency with the City’s architectural and site planning requirements. Objective design standards only apply to the architectural review and the City cannot deny a housing project based on architecture if all the ODS are met. Land use approvals that require discretionary processes will still require a discretionary review, and environmental concerns will be addressed as appropriate, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
Applicants who do not or cannot meet all ODS will have the opportunity to opt-out of the proposed ODS for architectural review and would be able to utilize a discretionary Administrative Permit (AP) and ADR process. In this scenario, projects can be reviewed using the existing subjective design guidelines and current review process. With this, the potential exists for the project to be appealed to the Planning Commission, where the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (HCA) (Government Code § 65905.5) may apply. For qualified projects, opting out of the ODS requirements does not change the HCA five meeting limit for a decision on a project.
Summary of Proposed SCMC Changes
The proposed SCMC amendments to implement Program HP-2.2 include:
• SCMC § 17.06.130 - Update to Findings and Decisions, such that multifamily and mixed- use housing projects do not need to comply with the subjective site suitability finding; • SCMC § 17.11.020 - Addition of ODS definition;
• SCMC § 17.23.100 - Administrative Permit requirement for ODS opt-out projects; and • SCMC § 17.37.030 - Requirement for housing projects in specific plans to comply with the ODS.
Copies of the municipal code changes in both clean and redline formats are provided.
PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION
On July 7, 2026, the City’s Planning Commission held a public hearing for the proposed ODS and SCMC amendments, at its regularly scheduled meeting. Commissioner Burkhart inquired whether an opt-out of the proposed ODS would potentially result in housing projects still requiring a five-hearing limits. As discussed above, opting out of the ODS does not change the HCA five-meeting limit. One member of the public also went on record requesting that ODS not impose additional costs for developers.
The Planning Commission voted 5-0 to adopt Resolution No. 26-04, with the changes discussed above, recommending that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the proposed multifamily and mixed-use ODS, and adopt an ordinance to codify the proposed Municipal Code amendments. A copy of the Planning Commission’s staff report is available in the City Clerk’s reading file.
ENVIRONMENTAL
A draft Notice of Exemption was prepared for the proposed project. The project is exempt from additional environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines (14 Cal. Code of Regs. § 15000, et seq.) § 15061(b)(3), the common-sense exemption. The activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
NOTICING
All notices required by law were completed, which consisted of a one-eighth page legal advertisement in The Signal newspaper on August 4, 2026. As of the writing of this staff report, City staff has received no correspondence from the community on this item.
CONCLUSION
As described above, the proposed multifamily and mixed-use housing ODS and SCMC amendments are necessary in accordance with current state housing law, as well as to implement Programs HP-2.1 and HP-2.2 of the City’s HE. City Council action is required to approve the ODS and amendments to the SCMC.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
Public Notice
Resolution
Ordinance MC26-038
Proposed SCMC Amendments - Clean
Housing Element Programs HP2.1 and 2.2
MC26-038 CEQA Notice of Exemption
Proposed Objective Design Standards - Redline (available in the City Clerk's Reading File) 2026-07-07 Planning Commission - Agenda 1 (available in the City Clerk's Reading File)