Planning commission recommends Calistoga Municipal Code changes to implement sixth-cycle housing element

The Calistoga Planning Commission on July 23 unanimously adopted a resolution recommending that the City Council amend the Calistoga Municipal Code to implement programs from the city’s sixth-cycle housing element.

Lauren Clark, the city’s assistant planner, told commissioners the housing element, adopted Aug. 1, 2023, included 80 actions and that staff brought forward 14 code-change items whose deadlines fall in August 2025. Clark said the proposed amendments are intended to implement state law where required and to carry out council direction where applicable.

Key proposed changes described in staff materials and discussed at the meeting included: allowing agricultural housing by right on parcels zoned for agricultural uses in the rural residential hillside (RRH) district (for agricultural housing specifically), expanding objective design…