In response to California's ongoing housing crisis, the State in recent years has adopted a series of laws intended to boost multi-family housing construction. A key component of this legislation is that cities cannot deny proposed multi-family projects based on any subjective criteria - subjective being criteria that is open to personal interpretation or perspective.
While the zoning for a site determines the height, setbacks and open space required for a project, design standards determine what the design of the structures would be. As in most cities, residential design in Cupertino has historically been regulated by design guidelines that are subjective in nature, which include provisions such as "Ensure that building layouts are compatible with the surrounding environment." While compatibility with the surrounding environment remains important to the Cupertino community, it can no longer be enforced using guidelines that are not clearly articulated.
In order to preserve local design preferences and priorities and comply with State law, Cupertino is developing Objective Design Standards (ODS). Unlike subjective design guidelines that have been widely used for decades, ODS are based on quantitative or discrete requirements. Whether or not projects comply with them is, therefore, not subject to interpretation. Having ODS in place will standardize the review thresholds for all multi-family and mixed-use residential projects, from neighborhood duplexes to large mixed-use apartment buildings, while ensuring the City has design standards that are clear, enforceable and support the community's vision of what Cupertino should look like, while meeting the state's requirements on accommodating various types of housing, at different densities within the City.