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Design Commission reviews draft urban design guidelines; staff seeks format direction and working‑group input
Summary
Staff presented draft templates and layout options for an update to the urban design guidelines, asked the commission for a preferred document format (staff recommended a vertical/portrait approach), and said working‑group discussions will produce mockups for the commission in August and a public draft later this year.
Jorge Rosalind, executive liaison to the Design Commission, presented draft templates and a timeline for the commission’s long‑running urban design guidelines update and asked commissioners for direction on document format, visual hierarchy, and the role of the working group.
Rosalind said the guidelines will continue to be used to evaluate private and public projects and to interface with the downtown density‑bonus program under city code. He described the current draft as organized around core principles and roughly 48 guidelines, and he asked the commission whether the document should emphasize a highly visual, branded look or a simpler vertical, book‑style layout. "A book type approach, a vertical approach is much more acceptable, universally and easier to read and follow," Rosalind said when staff discussed feasibility and user navigation.
Commissioners broadly favored delegating detailed formatting work to the working group and to staff, while reserving strategic decisions for the full commission. Commissioner Carroll recommended the working group continue to collaborate with staff on formatting to avoid bogging full commission meetings in design details. Vice Chair Meiners emphasized future compatibility and navigability: "I do think that there has to be an intent to almost future proof it, so that it is compatible with... AI," Meiners said, and called for mobile‑friendly navigation and placeholder images that can be updated.
Commissioners raised specific editorial priorities the working group should address: clearer graphic hierarchy that separates mandatory conditions from illustrative examples, brevity to improve usability, imagery licensing or city‑sourced photographs to avoid copyright issues, and more emphasis on second‑floor activation and balcony activation in downtown projects. Rosalind said staff has design capacity but production will be time‑intensive and suggested staff produce a small set of mockups for the commission to review in August; staff also recommended posting the draft as backup so all commissioners and the public can review it without risking quorum issues.
The commission discussed working‑group membership and agreed to place formal membership decisions on a future agenda so new commissioners can be considered without creating a quorum. Staff said it will coordinate working‑group meetings and aims to present mockups in August and a public draft for comment later this fall.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff to proceed with a vertical, portrait‑oriented layout as the default and to return with mockups; the working group will continue detailed design work and staff will post draft documents as meeting backup to allow full‑commission feedback.
