HOLLY OWEN, community development director for the City of Kingsburg, told the Planning Commission on Oct. 9 that staff will begin drafting objective design standards for multifamily housing, including potential guidelines for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), to satisfy state requirements and provide clearer, enforceable expectations for future projects.

The move responds in part to state legislation and the citys housing element programs: "Objective means objective," Owen said, explaining that standards must be measurable, verifiable and free of personal judgment so applicants and reviewers know what is required. She cited Senate Bill 35 as a major driver of the states emphasis on such standards.

Owen said the objective standards would apply primarily to multifamily-zoned parcels outside Kingsburgs form-based code area (for example, parcels north of Sierra) and could draw from existing documents such as the form-based code and the North Kingsburg Specific Plan. "This is the enforceable way to do this," she said, adding that the standards would be adopted by resolution so the city can update them as needed.

Commission discussion focused on the kinds of measures objective standards might include. Owen described specific, measurable elements planners commonly use: facade articulation and massing breaks, rooftop mechanical screening, sidewalk and pathway dimensions, and material consistency for ADUs. She urged use of graphics and scorecards to make requirements easier for applicants to follow.

A commissioner asked whether predesigned ADU plans could be required to match the primary residences roof material or other features. "That's a question that we'll consider," Owen replied, and said staff hopes to include a small set of ADU-specific objective standards. AJ O'Connell, the citys building official, said the approach would be consistent with the way the city already applies objective zoning and building standards to ADUs: "When we issue a building permit for those preapproved plans, they have to abide those standards. Those are objective standards. We go out. We measure it 5 feet. That's what it is."

Owen reviewed why the city is taking a cautious, measured approach: objective standards can reduce ambiguous, subjective findings about "neighborhood character" that are difficult to defend in a legal challenge and can help ensure more consistent outcomes across similar projects. She noted the citys housing element lists many programs (she said "about 144" when reviewing the spreadsheet) and that adopting objective standards is one way to implement those programs while remaining consistent with state law.

Staff outlined next steps and timing. Owen said the city has received draft resources from the Fresno Council of Governments Circuit Planning Group and another consulting handbook; staff will include those materials in the packet for commissioners to review. The commission and staff agreed to place the multifamily objective standards on the next available Planning Commission meeting after the holidays, with Owen indicating January 8 as the likely date for returning a draft for detailed discussion.

Owen also noted that objective standards would be adopted by resolution rather than being embedded in the zoning ordinance, making them easier to revise over time. She said staff will solicit commissioner feedback on depth of standards (for example, whether to require a specific numeric articulation frequency per building length or to use checklists/graphics) and will return with draft language and illustrations.

The presentation included shorter project updates (Swedish Village, a Union 76 site, a Sinclair station rebuild, Aragon Building/Westar Construction headquarters, a temporary Morgans Flooring retail occupancy and the WAVO site), but those were described as status notes rather than matters requiring immediate policy action.

Next steps: staff will post the consultant materials and the form-based code references for commissioner review, prepare draft objective standards (including a limited set addressing ADUs), and return to the Planning Commission for a substantive discussion in January. Members and the public can direct questions to Owen by email as staff prepares the draft resolution of standards.