Learn about and help shape an initiative to develop “objective design standards” for new housing in Piedmont at an open house on Wednesday, February 12.

Objective Design Standards Open House
Wednesday, February 12, 6-8pm (presentations at 6pm and 7pm)
Piedmont Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue

At the event, you’ll have an opportunity to learn what objective design standards are and how they work, speak directly with the project team, and share your preferences and priorities for what should be included in standards in Piedmont.

After a brief presentation (delivered twice during the event), attendees will dive deeper into the project at a series of staffed displays and share feedback on questions like:

• What they like most about the built environment in Piedmont today
• What types of site design elements would make new housing feel compatible with existing neighborhoods
• What design elements they feel are most important to be included in objective standards

State law now requires cities to approve certain new housing proposals, including accessory dwelling units and SB9 applications, based on “objective” standards – those that require no subject judgement or interpretation by public officials.

By adopting clearly defined rules for elements like articulation, type of design, and massing, the City can provide residents, property owners, and developers clear and consistent expectations for what new housing in Piedmont will look like. This helps streamline the development process and removes barriers to new housing.

In Piedmont, objective design standards already exist for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and multi-family and mixed-use developments. This initiative will develop new objective standards for one-to-four unit residential development and update the existing standards for other housing types.

A video introduction to Objective Design Standards is available at piedmont.ca.gov/ODSBasics. For more information, visit the project website at piedmont.ca.gov/ODS.