The Lafayette Design Review Commission on Monday voted unanimously to forward Phase 2 of the city’s Objective Design Standards (ODS) to the Planning Commission with a set of agreed edits intended to preserve the city’s character while creating a ministerial pathway for multifamily and mixed‑use projects.

The vote followed a presentation from Lisa Wise Consulting and staff that the ODS update translates policies in Lafayette’s sixth‑cycle housing element into objective rules for projects that may use a streamlined, nondiscretionary review pathway encouraged under state law (consultant referenced SB 330). Consultant Monica Sudlik described standards on building massing, facade articulation, upper‑story stepbacks, window treatments and permitted materials, and explained the draft will apply citywide to zones where multifamily and mixed use are allowed, not only downtown.

The document prompted detailed commissioner review and public comment. Longtime resident Libby Henry told commissioners she opposed broad state housing mandates and said the state’s RHNA process and some Housing and Community Development guidance are flawed — remarks the commission recorded in the public‑comment period but did not substantively address on the record. Local resident Elliot Hudson urged stricter language to protect Lafayette’s “small town community with a semi‑rural ambiance,” saying “character isn’t lost all at once. It’s lost one building at a time.”

During deliberations commissioners and staff logged a list of on‑the‑fly edits they agreed to include in the recommendation. Key changes recorded and accepted by the commission were: retain the existing third‑story stepback and 85% third‑story floor‑area rule; limit the maximum continuous flat roof run (a revised flat‑roof cap of 50 feet was discussed and accepted for the relevant clause); add a 1‑inch minimum projection to lintel window details (except where recessed under overhangs or behind balconies); correct balcony guard height language to 42 inches; allow a sliding‑door exception for fenestration area (standard 86‑inch slider ≈22.5 square feet) while keeping a separate upper‑story glazing cap; remove the clause prohibiting nonstructural decorative colonnades; and adjust color guidance so primary colors meet a higher light‑reflectance floor (consultants and commissioners proposed a primary range shifted toward 30–80 and limit very dark accent colors to no more than about 20% of a facade.

Commissioners also agreed to adopt the presentation boards as an appendix to the standards and to edit the resolution so the DRC’s action recommends approval to the Planning Commission (rather than directly to City Council), since a zoning code text amendment will require Planning Commission review.

Chair Cass moved the resolution to forward the draft with the agreed edits; the motion was seconded and the four commissioners present voted aye. Staff said the housing element’s environmental review covers this implementation and no additional CEQA analysis is required for the ODS update as presented.

The resolution and revised draft will be noticed for Planning Commission review; staff and consultants said they will continue public outreach and that the draft may be adjusted further when Planning Commission and City Council hearings occur.