Objective Development Standards

What are Objective Development Standards?

Objective development standards are those which involve no personal or subjective judgement. They are independently and uniformly verifiable. The purpose of objective development standards is to make regulations more predictable and easier to interpret and implement for all involved.

Recent State legislation mandates that Cities may only apply objective standards when reviewing multi-family residential projects. While many of the development standards in the City’s Zoning Code are objective, the City has initiated this project to ensure that the development standards support high quality multi-family and mixed-use development in a manner which is enforceable under current State law.

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How do we translate into an objective standard?

The proposed objective development standards will refine existing subjective policies and translate them into clear and measurable metrics that involve no personal judgment by a public official or decision maker. The proposed objective development standards will cover design topics such as site layout, building placement and orientation, architectural elements, and façade design – while being true to the existing architectural character and identity of Rancho Santa Margarita. 

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