Half Moon Bay — dealing with the impact of tightening state housing laws — is implementing interim objective design standards for multifamily and mixed-use housing to retain some local control over future development.
Senate Bill 35, which streamlines housing approval for buildings with affordable units, previously did not apply to the seaside city under coastal zone exemptions.
A new housing law will remove that protection beginning Jan. 1, 2025, forcing the City Council to move quickly in specifying its design standards for larger buildings, City Manager Matthew Chidester said.
“It really exposed us to people coming in and doing something that didn’t fit the character of our community,” he said. “The [interim objective design standards] gives us some say over what these potential projects could look like.”
The City Council, Planning Commission and Architectural Advisory Committee met for a joint study session to discuss the interim objective design criteria on Dec. 16, directly after new councilmembers were sworn in.
Architectural Advisory Committee Member Chad Hooker said the goal of the development standards, which include guidelines for building materials, roofing, windows and mass, should strike a balance that is at once practical and fits within Half Moon Bay’s character.
“This is multifamily housing, and we’re trying to accomplish more housing, but we’re trying to prevent ugly boxes,” he said.
Some, like Councilmember Deborah Penrose, voiced concerns that the city’s standards could be too stringent, inadvertently stalling the production of the new affordable and market-rate housing of which the city is in dire need.
“I want to see housing built, and no, I don’t want boxes — obviously, I’m an artist, I don’t want that,” she said. “But I also don’t want to stop the process because our demands are so restrictive that a developer can’t come in and work with us.”
Hooker maintained that the design criteria would still allow developers choice and not burden them with excessive cost — “it’s not where the money is,” he said. It’s a sentiment generally shared by Vice Mayor Debbie Ruddock.
“I think the cities and jurisdictions that ask for aesthetically pleasing design, they get it. If you don’t ask for it, you don’t get it,” she said.
Staff and consultants designed the standards in a menu-like format so developers in the interim period would still be given choice to allow for eclectic design and continue to foster diversity.
“We focused on providing a menu of items for compliance — balconies, windows, material changes, elevation breaks, bay windows,” Dana Ayers, of consulting firm MIG, said.
Among the design standards discussed were criteria that fit into the preferred housing styles for larger, multifamily units — coastal craftsman, Mediterranean revival, coastal contemporary and Spanish revival.
That includes the limited use of stone veneer, stucco and siding and roofing materials including composition of shingle, clay, concrete, slate and standing seam metal. Commissioners, committee members and councilmembers voiced smaller revision considerations throughout the duration of the study session.
Planning Commissioner Rick Hernandez, among others, voiced a desire for stucco to not overpower the designs of larger buildings, capping its use at 60%. Like many elements of the multifamily design standards, this is not applicable to single-family homes.
“We’re trying to prevent some of the ghastly structures that we’ve seen that are all stucco and nothing else,” he said.
Other requirements applied to the outside of buildings — fencing material cannot include barbed wire, chain link or vinyl. Exteriors must have at least two colors, with a prohibition on neon or fluorescent colors. Garages in the public right-of-way should be de-emphasized and landscaping must prioritize native plant species.
Now that the interim standards are going into effect, various Half Moon Bay entities will continue to work toward refining the requirements.
“Of course we want to refine that as we go forward. The interim standards are a little more constrictive,” Chidester said.
