Diamond Bar council introduces objective design standards for multifamily and mixed‑use projects

The Diamond Bar City Council moved the city closer to implementing objective design standards for multifamily and mixed‑use housing projects, a step staff says is needed to comply with state housing laws and streamline review.

The city’s senior planner presented an amendment to Title 22 that would add a new chapter establishing citywide objective design standards (ODS) that apply to multifamily projects with two or more units and to mixed‑use residential projects. The planner said the standards translate subjective design guidance into measurable, uniformly verifiable requirements so that staff can make objective determinations under state law, citing SB 35 and SB 330 as drivers of the change.

Neil Peyton of Torti Gallus and Partners, the project consultant, described the draft ODS structure—seven chapters addressing building types, articulation, frontage, open space standards, architectural style choices and a glossary to define technical terms. Peyton said the ODS provide a “menu” of choices tied to building scale and do not typically change local height limits or parking amounts but clarify where entrances, parking access, and frontage treatments should be located.

Staff said an addendum to the general plan EIR found no new significant impacts and recommended introducing the ordinance for first reading, waiving full reading and scheduling adoption for April 7, 2026. The council voted 4‑0 (Mayor Pro Tem Lo absent) to introduce ordinance number 4, 2026, and set the ordinance for second reading on April 7.