Millbrae creating design standards

Once the new policy is adopted, projects that fit the standards will not be subjected to a discretionary Planning Commission review, city staff said, however, more “out-of-the-box” designs will still go through the typical channels.

The permitting and review process can be a major factor in slowing down development and homeownership, Mayor Anders Fung said, noting that he hopes the new standards — once adopted — will provide greater flexibility and clarity for applicants.

“One of the greatest barriers to having new community members move in is the permit process,” he said. “As we try to craft out this box — which is what objective design standards are — I think there needs to be enough flexibility in there that we can be effective in allowing new homeowners to move in.”

The specific standards are still being developed by the Lisa Wise Consulting firm, that are about a year into the process and have held multiple community meetings to get resident input, representatives said at a Feb. 11 City Council meeting. The firm aims to submit a final draft by November 2025.

Based on that community input, the firm found that prominent Millbrae architectural styles included art-deco, ranch, Spanish and mission-style and midcentury homes, Senior Associate Monica Szydlik said.

Standards that include facade composition, changes in roof form, entryway patterns and paving and landscaping often go together to complete Millbrae’s unique character neighborhood-by-neighborhood, Szydlik said.

“It is those structures in particular, that adhere to that visual vocabulary, that lend the character to our neighborhoods,” she said. “In many cases design elements we’ve looked at aren’t stand-alone features. They can’t be modified independently without modifying the integrity of the home and architectural style.”

Other community input included a desire for attached dwelling units to match primary structure design and greater trees and landscaping throughout the city.

It’s important that Millbrae’s new objective design standards streamline the housing development process, rather than make it more challenging, consulting firm director David Bergman emphasized.

Although the city’s housing element — a statewide requirement to expedite housing production — has already been certified, the California Department of Housing and Community Development will remain involved throughout this process as well.

“You have to make sure your objective standards are not creating constraints,” Bergman said. “Unfortunately, HCD doesn’t go away once you get your housing element certified.”

Multifamily and mixed-use building standards will also be addressed in a separate document, the consulting firm said, as citywide standards for those buildings already exist.

Conversations around the city’s residential design standards will continue to be ongoing, Fung said, and community members will have additional opportunities to add input.

“This is sort of a checkpoint, or milestone,” he said. “More public input will be evaluated.”