DATE: April 18, 2023
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Acting Development Services Director
SUBJECT
Title
Residential Design Study Work Session: Options and Recommendations Report for the Hayward Residential Design Study
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the City Council provides feedback on the recommendations contained within the Options and Recommendations Report for the Hayward Residential Design Study.
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SUMMARY
The Hayward Residential Design Study is a long-range planning project that will result in the development of objective residential design standards as well as zoning amendments that ensure General Plan and Zoning Ordinance consistency. As part of this effort, an Options and Recommendations Report (Attachment II) was prepared to evaluate the City’s current residential design standards and provide options and recommendations for updates.
Specifically, the Report recommends the following:
• Site Development. Establish site development standards based on lot size, lot width, and the surrounding context.
• Building Height. Update the building height standards of the Medium Density Residential and High Density Residential zoning districts to allow for four or five story buildings and to be more consistent with the Mission Boulevard Code.
• Building Massing. Require building step-backs for upper stories on two-story single -family homes and multifamily residential development taller than two stories.
• Building Frontage. Adopt standards for building frontage design that address ground floor and façade treatments, window size and placement, roofline variation, front yard treatment, and fencing.
• Architectural Styles. Allow for a diversity of architectural styles and building types by limiting prescriptive design standards around any particular architectural style.
• Open Space. Make open space requirements easy to understand and provide clear definitions of the different types of open spaces. Ensure that open space requirements do not limit the feasibility of achieving the maximum allowable density and/or lot coverage.
• Landscaping and Lighting. Adopt objective standards around lighting and landscaping.
At this work session, staff is requesting specific feedback from the City Council on the following questions related to the Options and Recommendations Report for the Hayward Residential Design Study:
• Which of the recommendations and related options are not right for Hayward?
• Are there any other residential design issues not discussed in this report that should be considered when preparing the updated standards?
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Options and Recommendations Report