Lafayette begins Phase 2 of objective design standards, consultants seek detailed design input

Lafayette city staff and consultants opened the public kickoff for Phase 2 of the city’s objective design standards on Monday, outlining a plan to translate design preferences and the city’s existing checklist into objective, ministerial development standards required by state law.

The project aims to create a new chapter in the Lafayette development code with objective design standards that apply citywide to multifamily and residential mixed-use projects. City Senior Planner Stephanie Cervantes said the standards are intended to produce a ministerial pathway so housing applicants can pursue a predictable, objective review consistent with SB 330 and recent state guidance while preserving a discretionary path for applicants who seek a different approach.

The meeting matters because the standards will shape how higher-density projects allowed under Lafayette’s updated zoning — including new zones that permit up to 60 dwelling units per acre — appear on the street. Consultants from Lisa Wise Consulting and city staff emphasized the goal of balancing predictable, objective rules against allowing design flexibility so the city does not foreclose creative and context-sensitive projects.

Consultant Monica Sidlik described objective design standards as “standards that involve no…