Frequently Asked Questions

In recent years, the State has passed several laws that require local governments to update rules and policies to support the creation of housing. The State's intent behind requiring objective design standards is to remove the perceived uncertainty by developers and to provide a clear path toward development of housing. Truckee's proposed Objective Design Standards identify specific measurable elements of a design that are required for all multi-family residential projects or new single-family subdivisions with five or more residential parcels.

The State has implemented legislation that prohibits local agencies from denying residential projects on subjective design guidelines. The Town is proposing language that allows the developer to choose the option of using the objective design standards or the option of following a more flexible path that relies on design guidelines and community feedback. However, the Town cannot require a developer to use the flexible option.

The complexities and newness of these standards will necessitate revisions over time. Staff believes that the Town will need to revisit and amend the objective design standards as we figure out what works for Truckee and what is unsuccessful.

State legislation requires objective design standards for residential projects be reviewed at a ministerial level, which means that staff will determine consistency with the objective design standards. However, for larger projects or projects that require environmental review, the Planning Commission and/or Town Council will be the review authority. The current proposed amendments allow the developer to voluntarily choose a flexible design path that relies on the design guidelines If the developer chooses the flexible path, projects with 11 or more units or include over 26,000 s.f. of disturbance will be reviewed by the Planning Commission, which has been the historic process.

Truckee has historically supported unique architectural design that enhances the community character. In the past, this has allowed the Town to engage in conversations with the developer, rely on design review by local architects, and negotiate improvements to the designs to meet the expectations of the community. The State legislation has introduced challenges on the role the Town can play in conducting these design reviews. The Town acknowledges that objective design standards may have unintended consequences or may result in repetitive design but believes that implementation of these standards is the only way to provide a voice to the community while meeting the State's intention of providing clear expectations to the developer. The Town anticipates that these standards will evolve over time as we find out what is successful. The community outreach period, where input from members of the public and local design professionals, is important to this process - feedback received will help shape the development of these standards.

If the Town does not adopt new objective design standards, the Town would only rely on the existing objective design standards related to setbacks, height, coverage, and floor area. The design guidelines could not be used to require changes to the project and the Town would lose the opportunity to shape the project.

No. The design guidelines will still be used for nonresidential projects and for projects that are requesting a flexible design review path for residential projects.

The State Density Bonus law allows projects that deed restrict a certain percentage of the residential units in the project as affordable units to increase the allowed density for the site. In addition, the law allows projects to request concessions or incentives, which are generally applied as modifications to the Town's development standards. Developers can request modifications to the required objective design standards as part of their density bonus request.

There are several state laws that are driving the need for objective design standards including:

• Senate Bill 35 (Government Code Section 65913.4), which went into effect January 1, 2018, was part of a comprehensive bill package aimed at addressing the State's housing shortage and high costs. SB 35 requires a streamlined ministerial approval process for multi-family residential developments in jurisdictions that have not yet made sufficient progress toward meeting their regional housing need allocation (RHNA). Included in the streamlining process, these cities and counties are required to establish objective design standards for multi-family residential development.
• The Housing Accountability Act (HAA) (Government Code Section 65589.5), establishes the State's overarching policy that a local government may not deny, reduce the density of, or make infeasible affordable or market-rate housing development projects, emergency shelters, or farmworker housing that are consistent with objective local development standards. This provides developers more certainty about the standards, conditions, and policies that apply to their projects. Local governments that deny a project due to subjective standards (e.g., standards that are not objective) could be in violation of the HAA.
• Senate Bill 330 ("Housing Crisis Act of 2019) went into effect on January 1, 2020. The bill establishes regulations that sunset on January 1, 2025, as a means to address housing conditions ("crisis") in the state. During this period, cities and counties in urban areas, are prohibited from rezoning or imposing new development standards that would reduce capacity for housing or adopting new design standards that are not objective. The bill also defined previously undefined terms such as "objective standards" and "complete application" and set forth vesting rights for projects that use a new pre-application process.

• When reviewing the objective design standards, consider whether the standard can be objectively applied. If you see areas of interpretation, let us know.
• Look for areas we missed or areas that need more attention. What can we do to ensure projects achieve high quality design?
• Are there methods that should be incorporated to avoid cookie cutter design? Can proportions/percentages be used instead of strict dimensions?
• How can we incorporate sustainability goals into the standards?
• What home hardening requirements should we incorporate?
• What items are not clearly defined?