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CDD presents draft multifamily housing design guidelines; Planning Board continues discussion to May 13
Summary
CDD presented draft Design Guidelines for Multifamily Housing, consolidating affordable‑housing and citywide guidance; the Planning Board agreed to continue review to May 13 to allow more time for consideration and for an absent member to participate.
City Community Development Department staff on April 29 presented draft Design Guidelines for Multifamily Housing intended to consolidate earlier Affordable Housing Overlay guidance and citywide design principles into a single, user‑friendly document for multifamily projects. The draft covers site design, building massing and facade treatments, ground‑floor activation, sustainability and resilience, and offers examples for 4‑ to 13‑story contexts.
Daniel Masplay, director of community planning and design, said the document is a draft and staff will accept comments through May; Eric Thorkelson, senior urban designer, walked the board through chapter organization and illustrative precedents. The guidelines emphasize context‑sensitive massing, usable shared open space, and strategies to break up long facades and activate ground floors.
Public input and next steps: One public commenter urged stronger implementation mechanisms to ensure design guidance reaches smaller, as‑of‑right developments and recommended qualified review resources. Planning Board members said they wanted more time to digest the document and to ensure participation by an absent member; the board voted to continue discussion to its May 13 meeting. Staff said they will synthesize public comments and aim to finalize the document in late May.
