Objective Design Standards

Effective January 1, 2024, Senate Bill 423 (SB 423) will introduce a streamlined ministerial review process to the City of Half Moon Bay for qualifying affordable multi-family housing projects. Under SB 423 all applicable objective standards must be met in order for a project to be approved under ministerial review. As a result of this the City of Half Moon Bay is currently working to develop Objective Design Standards that can be applied to qualifying projects. 

The Objective Design Standards will be a set of definable standards that provide clear expectations on the design components of a project. 

An overview of applicable legislation, previous and upcoming meeting dates, information on objective design standards, and the adopted interim objective design standards can be found below. 

In a joint meeting of the City Council, Planning Commission, and Architectural Advisory Committee on December 16, 2024, the City Council unanimously approved "Interim Objective Design Standards". These Interim Standards can be found here:

Interim Objective Design Standards [PDF]

The Interim Objective Design Standards set clear architectural and site improvement requirements, in an effort to ensure quality design of multi-family projects in Half Moon Bay while the City works to refine and expand upon such design criteria in the coming year.

Below is a map of areas in the City of Half Moon Bay that may be potentially eligible SB 423 sites:Map showing the potential SB 423 eligible areas within the City of Half Moon Bay

 - There are no scheduled upcoming meetings at this time

Senate Bill 35 (SB 35) & Senate Bill 423 (SB 423)