Fillmore planning panel approves rezones and multifamily design standards, urges council to study shading and update cultural survey

A majority of the Fillmore City Planning Commission on Thursday voted to recommend the City Council adopt zoning ordinance amendment 24-2 and zone change 24-1 to implement housing element actions that create a new RMH2 residential zone and a housing overlay and add objective design standards for multifamily dwellings to the Fillmore Municipal Code.

Planning staff told commissioners the rezones and objective standards are intended to help the city obtain final certification from the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). “We are urgently needing to get it through to city council and then off to state HCD so they can certify our housing element,” planning staff lead Brian said during the presentation.

The commission’s recommendation endorses the draft ordinance and adds two specific recommendations to City Council: (1) that council consider measures to reduce shading impacts and improve compatibility where multifamily buildings abut single-family homes, and (2) that council consider conducting an updated cultural/cultural-resources survey for the city to help with future CEQA review. The motion passed 4-0.

Why it matters: The zoning and standards implement housing element actions the city submitted to HCD and are intended to clear conditional certifications that, if unresolved, can expose the city to missed funding opportunities for affordable housing and other legal or financial risks cited by HCD. Staff said the housing element work began in 2021 and that HCD is tracking the city’s progress; staff described the conditional certification as the reason the rezones are time-sensitive.

What the ordinance and zone change would do - RMH2 zone: The proposal creates a higher-density residential zone in areas just south of City Hall along Central Avenue (between Santa Clara Street and SR 126), converting parcels currently zoned for highway commercial uses into an RMH2 residential designation. Staff said the change would legalize many existing single-family homes…