Calistoga planning panel recommends zoning language for three Lincoln Avenue parcels, continues design-standards decision to Feb. 14

The Calistoga Planning Commission on Jan. 24 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council adopt zoning-text changes that would make three reuse-site parcels on Lincoln Avenue eligible for ministerial review if a proposed housing project includes at least 20% units affordable to lower-income households.

Interim Planning and Building Director Sandra Meyer told the commission that state law and the city's certified 2023'2031 housing element require the change for the parcels identified in the housing-element site inventory. "When a new development application is submitted to the planning and building department, staff has 30 days according to the Permit Streamlining Act in which to decide whether the application and all required information have been submitted," Meyer said, describing timing and the threshold that must be met for ministerial processing.

The commission's vote approved language to amend Calistoga Municipal Code chapters 17.19 (R3 Multifamily/Residential Office) and 17.22 (Commercial CC) so that a reuse site (three assessor parcels listed in the staff motion) with projects containing 20% affordable units would not be subject to discretionary design review but instead be reviewed against objective design standards. Commissioner Vaughn moved the resolution and Commissioner Thalia seconded; roll-call votes were recorded as unanimous.

Tom Ford, the consultant who drafted the proposed objective standards, framed the rules as a way to make design expectations measurable under recent state laws such as SB 35. "SB 35 was one of the first pieces of state legislation that came out that was dealing with this issue of development: if it has the right amount of affordable housing it only needs to be judged by objective standards," Ford said, explaining standards such as a 25-square-foot-per-unit common-open-space metric, facade articulation requirements, a "reduced bulk" zone with a 45-degree daylight plane, and limits on continuous facade length.

Members of the public urged caution. John Joyce, a resident of View Road, said narrow parcels and parking pressure make high-density development inappropriate for that street, arguing it would push vehicles onto Lincoln and nearby residential streets. "I think there is not enough parking and I think the result will be you'll have parking on Lincoln," Joyce said. Other speakers raised similar concerns about traffic, sewer capacity and the town's existing inventory of R3 sites.

Staff and the commission repeatedly clarified that objective design standards address building-scale, measurable features and do not replace development-code requirements for parking, sewer, traffic or environmental review. "Those are handled in other documents within the municipal code," the chair said during the discussion.

The meeting turned to detailed numeric edits after the consultant's presentation. Chair Wilks proposed a package of mostly more restrictive numeric changes'for example, lowering some permitted facade lengths, increasing minimum facade offsets, adding a requirement for enclosed, lockable bicycle storage, and tightening window-offset distances for nearby neighbors. Ford said the consultant's office could incorporate many of the edits and that some language (for example bicycle-storage requirements) could be added as a separate standard.

Because two commissioners said they wanted additional time to review the proposed language and suggested edits, the commission voted unanimously to continue final action on the objective design standards to the Feb. 14 meeting so staff and the consultant can draft the chair's recommended numeric revisions and provide the full commission an opportunity to review them.

The zoning-text recommendation approved Jan. 24 is a referral to the City Council; planning staff will forward the commission's resolution and the draft objective standards for council consideration. The continuation means the commission will revisit the detailed standards and any redline edits at its Feb. 14 meeting.