Chino City Council upholds planning director’s floor-area-ratio interpretation for mixed-use overlay

The Chino City Council voted unanimously April 15 to uphold the director of development services’ written interpretation that the city’s Mixed Use Overlay (MUO) applies FAR limits to nonresidential space only, denying an appeal from resident Robert Nigg challenging that reading of the zoning standards.

The action came after a staff presentation explaining the city adopted MUO and Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) standards in 2023 and later amended them to satisfy the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Principal Planner Michael Hitz told the council the director’s written decision of Dec. 5, 2024, arose from a citizen request for clarification and was appealed to the Planning Commission, which upheld the director’s interpretation in a subsequent hearing. City Attorney Fred Galante told the council that overturning the Planning Commission would require an ordinance amendment affecting 91 overlay sites and that “the council cannot approve those revisions to the ordinance without HCD’s approval.”

Why it matters: the dispute turns on whether the MUO’s FAR cap should count both commercial and residential buildings on a parcel or only the nonresidential portion. The difference affects how much building area a developer may place on a site and has drawn…