The City of Upland invites the community to join in preparing objective design standards by providing input to help shape the design for future multifamily residential development. These standards will reflect the community’s design priorities and complement the unique characteristics of Upland.

What Are We Doing?

The purpose of this project is to create and adopt Multifamily Objective Design Standards for the City of Upland. The Objective Design Standards will implement the City’s Housing Element Program 8, aimed at reducing potential constraints to housing development, specifically for infill multifamily projects that are eligible for ministerial review.

Why Are We Doing It?

On December 11, 2025, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) certified the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element in substantial compliance with State Housing Element Law. The certified Housing Element committed to accommodating its share of the 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) as well as implement the goals, policies, programs and objectives to address the City’s housing needs. Through Program 8 of the City’s 6th Cycle HEU, the City committed to creating Objective Design Standards for multifamily residential projects.

The project is funded by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Subregional Partnership Program (SRP) 2.0. The SRP 2.0 program focuses on implementing Housing Elements as a means for investing in early actions to accelerate infill development facilitating housing supply, choice, and affordability; affirmatively furthering fair housing; and reducing vehicle miles traveled across the region.

To address the housing shortage, recent State legislation, including Senate Bill (SB) 35 and SB 330, requires projects to be reviewed against objective standards. Objective standards include a broad set of standards used by an agency to regulate development, including “objective zoning standards,” “objective subdivision standards,” and “objective design review standards.” Objective standards are the only basis a local agency may use to deny or reduce the density of certain eligible projects.

 Housing Accountability Act (SB 167, 2017)

The Housing Accountability Act (HAA), first passed in 1982, prohibits a jurisdiction from denying or reducing the size of housing developments that are compliant with its zoning code and other objective standards. SB 167 prevents jurisdictions from disapproving housing development projects for very low-, low-, or moderate-income households or emergency shelters without specific factual findings.

Affordable Housing Streamlined Approval Process (SB 35, 2017)

SB 35 requires jurisdictions to streamline review and approval of eligible affordable housing projects by providing a ministerial approval process, exempting such projects from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Development projects are eligible for the streamlined, ministerial approval process under SB 35 if they meet certain criteria, including affordability and locational criteria.:

The streamlined, ministerial entitlement process created by SB35 relies on Objective Design Standards.

Housing Crisis Act (SB 330, 2019)

SB 330 is intended to reduce the time it takes to approve housing developments by:

• Allowing a housing developer to “freeze” the applicable fees and development standards that apply to a project while the rest of the material necessary for a full application submittal is assembled,
• Prohibiting local agencies to “disapprove” an eligible housing development project or condition its approval at a “lower density,” if a project is consistent with objective standards after an application is deemed complete,
• Prohibiting downzoning or actions resulting in lesser intensification,
• Prohibiting imposing a moratorium on development, and
• Prohibiting imposing design standards that are not objective.

What are Objective Design Standards?

Objective Design Standards are intended to make the requirements that apply to certain eligible residential projects more predictable and easier to interpret for all stakeholders, including decision makers, staff, applicants, and members of the public. The purpose of Objective Design Standards is for applicants to know beforehand what requirements apply to a proposed development and for the applicant to be able to design a project that meets those requirements before submittal. Objective Design Standards are defined in Government Code Sections 65913.4 and 66300(a)(7) as:

“Standards that involve no personal or subjective judgement 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 or proponent and the public official prior to submittal.”

What is the Difference Between Objective and Subjective Design Standards?

 Where do Objective Standards Apply?

Objective design standards will apply in residential zones that currently allow two or more dwelling units. The applicable zones are RM-10, RM-20, RM-30 and RM-40 and are shown on the map below. Eligible projects must be either:

1. Multifamily projects (2 or more dwelling units, not including mixed use); or
2. Meet affordability requirements (minimum percentage of affordable housing eligible for Senate Bill 35)

 What Design Topics Will Be Included in the Objective Design Standards?

Objective Design Standards must address a range of key design topics and will be designed to meet the unique needs of Upland. Objective Design Standards are tailored to local conditions and the context of the different areas where they apply within the City. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. The most important topics for regulations will be determined during the outreach phase. This includes which topics will be precisely regulated through standards and which topics the ODS will not regulate to allow creativity and flexibility. The project will not change existing zoning standards such as building heights, density or setbacks. The following topics may be included:

• Site Design & Massing: Transitions from Adjacent Properties, Maximum Building Length, Orientation, Parking Type and Location
• Building Design & Articulation: Frontage Types, Ground Floor, Entries, Façades, Roof Forms, Open Space, Building Type
• Building & Landscape Details: Materials, Color, Awnings, Screening and Fencing, Exterior Lighting, Signage, Landscaping

Can Applicants Propose a Project That Doesn’t Use These Standards?

Yes. The new standards are offered as a voluntary “opt-in” program for applicants seeking a streamlined review process. If a project complies with the objective design standards (as well as all zoning and other related requirements), the City must approve the project through a staff-level administrative process with no public review or hearing. Applicants may propose an alternative design that deviates from Objective Design Standards using the City’s current discretionary review process, which takes more time, effort, and money.

How Can I Provide Input?

The City values your input to help inform the Objective Design Standards. Please share your thoughts in our visual preference survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/UplandODS_VisualPreferenceSurvey.

Visit the City’s website https://www.uplandca.gov/planning to stay informed of meeting dates and draft work products. For additional questions, please email the City’s Planning Department at planning@uplandca.gov.