MCR01-25 — Objective Design Standards Phase 2, Part 2
Description
The second half of the city's Objective Design Standards for multifamily and mixed-use buildings, adding rules on building massing, upper-story stepbacks, parking screening, open space, fire safety, and street trees — recommended with an 18-square-foot window maximum and softened Zone Zero planter rules.
Impact summary
Every future apartment or mixed-use project will be measured against this checklist — no flat roofs above two stories, capped window glass, screened parking, and materials requirements — though density-bonus projects can still waive elements.
Applicant
- Name
- City of Lafayette
At a glance
- Hearings
- 2
- Public comments
- 11
- Total mentions
- 2
Last vote · Planning Commission
A recommendation, not a final decision. The council decides next.
Discussed at 2 meetings in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 19, 2026.
Meeting timeline (2)
Planning Commission - Oct 19, 2026
The second half of the city's Objective Design Standards for multifamily and mixed-use buildings, adding rules on building massing, upper-story stepbacks, parking screening, open space, fire safety, and street trees — recommended with an 18-square-foot window maximum and softened Zone Zero planter rules.
Planning Commission - Sep 8, 2026
A new code chapter (6-39) setting objective design standards for all multifamily (3+ units) and residential mixed-use projects, recommended to City Council with revisions after a bifurcated process tied to the Hack settlement.
Related issues (3)
Window size limits in new Objective Design Standards
These rules will shape every multifamily and mixed-use building in Lafayette — roofs, windows, materials, colors and open space. Residents packed the room worried the draft reads like Walnut Creek, not semi-rural Lafayette; the council leaned toward requiring pitched or mansard roofs on taller buildings but took no final vote.
Zone Zero fire-safety landscaping rules in the Objective Design Standards
The city is working on objective design standards — rules that spell out exactly what new housing must look like, limiting discretionary review. The Commission's feedback session and its recommendation to the City Council moved to September 8.
Window pane size dispute between council and commission
The City Council recently cut the maximum single window pane from 18 to 6 square feet, and commissioners across the board called that 'ridiculously small.' The commission formally recommended restoring 18 square feet in its ODS recommendation, giving the council a clear signal.
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