The Citizens Design Review Committee formed by the City Council to guide the creation of “objective design standards” for multifamily housing and mixed-use development in the Village and Barrio areas will hold its third meeting next week. The committee will review and give input on the architectural styles section of the objective design standards, which would be applied to future development projects to be built in these neighborhoods.
- The standards won’t change things like maximum building height, density or setbacks defined in the Village and Barrio Master Plan.
- The standards would benefit developers, residents, city staff and decision makers by providing clear, quantifiable and consistent direction in multifamily housing design that can be uniformly applied without relying on the subjective judgement of decision makers.
- The standards would also allow Carlsbad to better preserve the unique character and charm of the Village and Barrio areas while complying with state laws designed to ease California’s housing crisis.
- The objective design standards, including the selection of architectural styles, are being developed based on feedback from the committee and community input gathered this summer through a survey and community workshop.
Citizens Design Review Committee meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 25, 3 p.m.
City Council chamber
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive
Watch meeting live on the city's website
You can find the full agenda and meeting materials, as well as how to participate, on the city’s website by Thursday, Oct. 20.
Architectural styles
The committee has narrowed architectural styles to be included in the objective design standards down to seven, which the committee may further reduce or refine. Not all of the architectural styles will be allowed in every subdistrict in the Village and Barrio areas.
Architectural styles
Next steps
- The draft standards are expected to be available for public review and comment in early 2023.
- The committee will then meet once more in early 2023 to review the full draft of the objective design standards, as well as public input on the draft, and consider finalizing for City Council consideration.
- The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2023.
Background
Due to a shortage of housing in California, the state has streamlined the approval process for multifamily housing projects. Under these new state housing laws, cities have less control over how many apartments, condos and certain mixed-use development projects can be built and when. Creating objective design standards will help the city comply with these new laws while preserving the unique character and charm of the Village and Barrio areas, the city’s two oldest neighborhoods.
The city is working on a similar project to create citywide objective design standards for areas outside of the Village & Barrio. The City Council voted to separate the two projects so that the Village and Barrio could receive special attention.
More information
Village & Barrio objective design standards webpage
Common questions
Village & Barrio Master Plan
Shelley Glennon, Associate Planner, shelley.glennon@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2905
