The City of Carlsbad is on track to complete all the steps identified in its state-approved plan to increase access to affordable housing in the city over the next eight years. City staff provided details in an annual report presented to the City Council Tuesday.

The City of Carlsbad worked with the community a few years ago to develop an updated housing plan.

• All California cities are required to create a plan that shows how they will meet projected housing needs.
• The latest update was the first since new state laws and court decisions made voter-imposed limits on the total number of homes in Carlsbad unenforceable.

Some of the changes in state law that are included in the city’s housing plan include:

• Streamlined permitting for accessory dwelling units, which include garage apartments and stand-alone housing on lots with single family homes.
• The city recently sought input from the community on a new permit program for these types of units and developed four sets of building plans that will be made available to residents in the coming months. Each plan features an architectural style that will blend in well with existing neighborhoods.
• Zoning changes that will allow more housing to be built in Carlsbad. Sites were identified based on community input and are now undergoing an environmental analysis.
• Increasing the fees paid by developers who do not include affordable housing as part of their projects. The city uses these fees to create its own affordable housing programs.

The city is also completing a project to develop design standards that will help ensure new apartment and condo projects built in the city meet objective criteria for architectural style and other design features. These objective design standards will help protect the community’s character as more affordable housing projects are built. The state identifies several different levels of affordable housing, based on household income. To achieve the level of affordability required, most of these projects are apartments and condos.

More information
General Plan and Housing Element Progress Report
City of Carlsbad General Plan