Newark, CA
Home MenuObjective Design Standards
The City of Newark will be developing Objective Design Standards (ODS) for residential development and mixed-use projects with a residential component. The intent of ODS is to provide applicants and developers with a clear understanding of the City’s expectations for project design, thereby providing a streamlined, objective, and efficient project review process.
The City has engaged Good City Company to assist staff with drafting these standards as part of its efforts to implement Program H3.2 of the 2023-2031 Housing Element of the City’s General Plan. The project will involve analysis of existing standards, the drafting of ODS, and community engagement activities to inform the public and gather insights from the community and other stakeholders. It will also include amending Title 17 (Zoning) and other titles of the Newark Municipal Code.
What are Objective Design Standards?
The State of California has enacted laws that require approval for mixed-use and multi-family development to be based on uniformly verifiable criteria. State law defines objective standards as those that “involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant and public official before submittal.” (California Government Code, Section 65913.4)
In contrast, subjective standards require interpretation by City staff or discretionary boards. For example, a requirement for a 40-square-foot front entryway is an objective standard, while a “welcoming front entry” requirement is subject to interpretation. An objective standard like “building exteriors shall utilize at least two different colors” could replace a subjective requirement such as “every building shall have complementary colors which demonstrate a harmonious relationship.”