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Tustin Council Adopts Citywide Objective Design Standards to Streamline State-Qualified Housing
Summary
The Tustin City Council voted unanimously to adopt citywide objective design standards and a companion ordinance and resolution aimed at enabling ministerial review for state-qualified housing projects under SB 35 and related state laws.
The Tustin City Council on April 1 adopted objective design standards (ODS) and associated code amendments intended to allow ministerial review of state-qualified multifamily, mixed‑use and condominium housing projects.
Assistant Community Development Director Jay Eastman presented the item, explaining California law requires objective, measurable standards when a city processes state‑qualified housing projects ministerially. Eastman said the ODS convert subjective guidelines into “shall” and “must” criteria, use measurable standards and menus of options, and include a scorecard and size‑scaled requirements so smaller projects face fewer burdens. He said the draft fulfills statutory streamlining requirements under SB 35 and aligns with the city’s housing element implementation program to replace subjective design review.
The staff recommendation asked the council to adopt ordinance 15‑62 (amending Article 9, Chapter 2 of the zoning ordinance) and resolution 25‑03 approving the ODS. Eastman said the standards apply only to qualified projects and do not apply to single‑family homes; historic properties and certain projects may be exempt from ministerial processing under state law, and the city will pursue neighborhood‑specific standards for areas such as Old Town.
Councilmembers described the ODS as part of the city’s broader “streamlined Tustin” effort to speed housing review, with potential time savings measured in months for qualifying projects. Several members praised staff outreach — including work with consultant PlaceWorks and local developers — and emphasized the ODS include flexibility (by allowing a discretionary design review in limited cases) and follow‑up neighborhood workshops to refine architecture for unique districts.
The council voted 5–0 to approve the ordinance and resolution.
The ordinance and resolution enact citywide, high‑level objective design standards for state‑qualified housing projects; neighborhood‑level refinements and implementation details will return to the council for future hearings.
