Encinitas staff introduce draft ordinance and objective design standards to implement AB 2011, SB 6

City of Encinitas planning staff and consultants on the evening of a public workshop introduced a project to draft a local ordinance and objective design standards to implement California Assembly Bill 2011 and Senate Bill 6, laws that allow multifamily residential development in commercial zones.

City planners said the work is intended to give developers, residents and staff a clear, verifiable set of standards that can be applied consistently in the Downtown Encinitas Specific Plan area and the North 101 Corridor Specific Plan area.

Planners said the bills, which took effect July 1, 2023, allow residential development on land where office, retail and parking are the principally permitted uses and therefore can override local zoning that otherwise prohibits residential in those commercial zones. “Both are in effect today, and someone could come in now and use these bills,” said Matt Gilpin, a senior urban planner with project consultant Ascent Environmental. The city has started preparing a draft ordinance and objective design standards to guide how eligible projects will be reviewed and built.

Matt Gilpin, Sarah Padona and Patty Andrews described the main technical distinctions between the two state laws and the kinds of local standards the city plans to create. AB 2011 requires certain affordability levels for some project pathways and includes a ministerial, streamlined approval path and CEQA streamlining for qualifying projects; SB 6 does not impose affordability requirements and does not itself include the same CEQA or ministerial streamlining. City staff also noted that SB 6 can sometimes be combined with Government Code section 65913.4 to pursue other streamlining routes, though additional conditions must be met.

Key eligibility and development points presented

- Project types and affordability: Staff described three primary project pathways defined in state law: 100% affordable projects; mixed-income projects (a mix of affordable and market-rate units); and general SB 6-eligible projects. For the 100% affordable pathway under AB 2011, all units must be restricted for lower-income households (the presenters noted 80% of area median income as a referenced threshold for lower-income units). SB 6 does not itself require affordable units.

- Density and height: For the 100% affordable and SB 6 pathways, state law sets a minimum density of 30 dwelling units per acre and does not set a maximum density. The city said the operative local zone for those project types in Encinitas is the R-30 overlay, which currently includes a 35-foot maximum height in the municipal code. For AB 2011 mixed-income projects, staff explained that state law’s frontage- and site-size–based rules can allow higher densities (the city noted mixed-income projects in some cases could reach up to 60 dwelling units per acre under state rules applicable to Encinitas) and potentially higher heights (presenters said some frontage types could allow up to a 45-foot maximum height under the state framework). Presenters also noted some statewide provisions that would allow still greater height or density near major transit, but said those provisions do not apply to Encinitas because of its coastal zone status and population threshold.

- Frontage, site and environmental limits: Presenters noted a 50-foot minimum frontage requirement for some mixed-income pathways, and other eligibility screens including limits on sites within certain environmental hazards (for example, sites cannot be within 3,200 feet of an oil extraction facility, among other environmental exclusions), and special rules near freeways and for historic or deed-restricted housing.

- Parking, tenant protections and labor rules: Under AB 2011, staff said the city cannot require typical automobile parking for eligible projects except for bicycle parking, electric vehicle parking, or accessible parking. The AB 2011 mixed-income pathway also triggers commercial tenant notice and relocation assistance requirements for displaced commercial tenants. Presenters said different labor requirements could apply to projects depending on the chosen pathway.

Objective design standards: what the city plans to regulate

City staff emphasized that objective design standards — rules that can be applied without subjective judgment — are the primary tool for shaping how multifamily development allowed by the bills would look and function in the two specific-plan areas. Examples provided include measurable rules for façade articulation (for example, plane breaks and offsets with minimum dimensions), limits on continuous roofline lengths, requirements for ground-floor transparency and treatment to preserve active street frontages in Downtown Encinitas, minimum usable private and common open space, materials lists, landscaping, access and circulation (including how many driveways may be allowed into 101), and screening of service areas and utilities. The presenters showed sample graphics illustrating how standards translate subjective design guidance into verifiable measurements.

Public comment and developer concerns

Several residents and people who identified themselves as developers in the audience said the state laws are technically complex and carry financial risk for developers unfamiliar with all eligibility criteria. One attendee, identified in the record as a resident/developer, summarized the view of others: “There’s so many things that could trip you up…you have way more paid for this and there’s no way this is gonna work,” and urged caution and thorough review before committing to projects. City staff replied that the ordinance and objective standards are intended to reduce guesswork and that the city has engaged experienced consultants and legal review to interpret the laws.

Next steps

Staff said this workshop is the project’s initial public outreach. The city expects additional, more focused community workshops on Downtown Encinitas and North 101, followed by a joint planning commission and city council study session, a public review period on the draft ordinance and objective design standards, then two planning commission hearings and two city council hearings before any final adoption.

The presentation materials and an online map viewer that screens potentially eligible sites are available on the project webpage, staff said. Planners encouraged stakeholders to review the draft ordinance and standards when released and to submit written comments during the public review period.