The Carlsbad City Council approved objective design standards for future multifamily housing and mixed-use projects on Tuesday. The new standards will help ensure new apartment, condo and duplex projects built in Carlsbad meet objective criteria for building and site design features. The objective design standards do not include any changes to existing development standards such as building heights, density or setbacks, and the standards will only apply to future apartment, condo and mixed-use projects. 

New state housing laws have streamlined approval of multifamily housing projects to help ease California’s housing crisis. The city's existing design standards have been updated where needed to meet the state's definition of "objective" since existing subjective design standards are not enforceable. The newly approved objective design standards will allow the city to have a say in a project’s design to help ensure it fits with the overall community character.

Establishing objective design standards is also one of several steps identified in the city's state-approved plan to increase access to affordable housing in the city over the next eight years. The city worked with the community a few years ago to develop an updated housing plan, also known as the Housing Element.

Citywide objective design standards will apply to all areas outside of the Village and Barrio. A separate set of design standards and architectural styles were created specifically for the Village and Barrio, two of Carlsbad’s oldest neighborhoods.

Seven architectural styles were approved for specific subdistricts and building types in the Village and Barrio:

• Spanish Revival
• Craftsman
• American Mercantile
• Victorian
• Colonial Revival/Cape Cod
• Traditional Modern
• California Contemporary

The community provided input into the objective design standards over a series of public meetings and opportunities for online input. Because the Village and Barrio areas have unique characteristics, the City Council appointed a Citizens Design Review Committee as an added community engagement measure. The draft standards were available for public review between May 19 and June 19 and recommended for approval by the Planning Commission on July 19.

Next steps

• September 2023: City Council will consider formal adoption of a zoning code amendment needed to establish the objective design standards.
• The objective design standards will become effective outside of the Coastal Zone 30 days after the zoning code amendment is adopted.
• Staff will submit an application to the California Coastal Commission for a Local Coastal Program Amendment following the City Council’s adoption of the zoning code amendment. The California Coastal Commission will need to approve an amendment to the city's Local Coastal Program to make the objective design standards effective for projects in the Coastal Zone.

More information
Aug. 29 City Council meeting agenda
Aug. 29 City Council staff report
Village and Barrio objective design standards webpage
Citywide objective design standards webpage
Common questions
Village & Barrio Master Plan
Shelley Glennon, Associate Planner, shelley.glennon@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2905