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Consultants outline objective design standards to ease single‑family development in Hanford
Summary
City planning consultants presented draft objectives to make single‑family development more predictable, including smaller minimum lot sizes, reduced setbacks, open‑space flexibility and design requirements; commissioners raised CEQA, fire‑safety, traffic and parking concerns and asked for a May draft.
Hanford planning staff and consultants presented a study session on Jan. 13 about drafting objective design standards intended to make single‑family subdivision approvals more predictable and potentially lower development costs. Hannah Woolsey, a planner with consultant firm Minteer Harnish, said the project aims for public review and adoption in 2026 and will produce a draft for the commission to review in May.
Woolsey defined the standards as measurable, `shall`‑type criteria that remove subjective judgment from approvals, saying, “So what are objective design standards? As the name implies, they are objective.” She told the commission the standards would apply to subdivision and tract map development, provide an alternate, more predictable permitting route and would not preclude a developer from pursuing discretionary review to deviate from the standards.
The consultants cited state housing laws as…
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