The Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) will be conducting a study session to review interim objective design standards for multi-family housing proposals eligible for streamlined permitting under recent state law at its Thursday meeting.

   Senate Bill 35, authored by Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), went into effect on Jan. 1. The goal is to require cities to approve qualifying multi-family housing projects consistent and objective and design review standards when the California Department of Housing and Community Development decides that an agency has issued fewer building permits than its share of the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), Associate Planner Charles Enchill wrote in a staff report. The department’s decision is based on how a jurisdiction fulfills progress toward its RHNA in the following four income areas for a reporting period: very low, low, moderate and above moderate.

   “Benicia must comply with SB35 due to the rate of housing production thus far in the Housing Element cycle, 2015-2023,” Enchill wrote. “As a result, Benicia must approve a housing project of two (2) or more units that provides 10% or more affordable housing, based on objective standards, without CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) or design review.”

   On March 20, the City Council adopted an interim urgency ordinance that halted work/live quarters and established objective planning standards for mixed-use and residential housing developments subject to a streamlined ministerial review per SB 35. Benicia’s Planning Division is currently preparing a zoning text amendment to establish permanent design standards before the interim ordinance expires on March 20, 2019.

   According to Enchill, councilmembers were in support of additional housing as well as affordable housing but felt the details of the design standards warranted additional review and felt the standards were too prescriptive in some areas, such as outdoor living spaces. Questions were also raised about the maximum height limitation and whether additional building height was necessary to accommodate housing.

   A presentation on development standards was also delivered to the Planning Commission at its July 12 meeting, but there was no in-depth discussion or direction by the commission.

   The Planning Division also held a stakeholder meeting consisting of affordable housing providers and design professionals on Friday to solicit feedback on the interim development standards. Stakeholders discussed how the standards would impact the viability of affordable housing development in Benicia, and Enchill wrote that feedback from this meeting will be discussed at the HPRC meeting.

   While the planning division has received verbal inquiries regarding applicability of SB35 in Benicia, no applications have been submitted with the City and a limited number of applications have been submitted regionally,” he wrote.

   The standards are organized into three primary sections: definitions, building form and site standards, and architectural standards. Planning staff will present the standards during the study session Thursday. 

   Apart from approving draft minutes from the previous meeting on June 28, there are no other business items on the agenda.

   The HPRC will meet at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 23 in City Hall’s Commission Room, located at 250 East L St.

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