GALT, CA (MPG) - The Galt City Council and Planning Commission met in a special meeting March 30 at City Hall to review an update to the city’s municipal code for residential design standards in new housing.

The effort aims to establish consistent quality and clearer expectations for home design in future developments while preserving flexibility for builders in Galt.

The meeting marked the city’s first ever joint study session between City Council members and planning commissioners, held as an interactive workshop focused on developing clearer, measurable standards for single-family housing projects.

City staff said Galt’s current residential architectural guidelines are largely subjective and “discretionary,” conditional upon opinion or interpretation, which makes it difficult to ensure consistent quality in new construction.

The proposed update would establish more defined, objective standards that are easier for builders to follow and for the city to enforce in development projects.

Under the proposal, accessory dwelling units, junior accessory dwelling units and larger multifamily or mixed-use developments such as apartments and condominiums would not be included. Staff said those project types are either less common locally or fall outside the focus of the updated standards.

The proposed design guidelines, complied partly from other cities, are meant to make new homes look more varied and less repetitive by setting clearer requirements for building shape, design details and exterior materials. Homes would be required to include varied roof forms, covered porches or patios and other architectural features intended to break up uniform exterior front-facing walls, or façades.

To limit sameness between home designs, no more than three homes with the same façade and color scheme would be allowed per block. The update also expands expectations to include rear and side elevations, not just front-facing designs.

Additional requirements would apply to windows, roofs, materials, parking and garages. Windows would need recessed detailing or trim. Rooflines would be required to extend at least 12 inches beyond exterior walls and include added spans to improve visual depth. Parking would not be allowed in front setbacks and would be limited to driveways.

 

Here is the sample photo used in the city staffs’ joint study session to demonstrate how the goal of the design guidelines might look. Photo courtesy of City of Galt

Garages would not be allowed to occupy 50% or more of the front façade and would require lighting on both sides of garage doors. Larger, wider and deeper garages and driveways, along with standardizing certain features such as 8-foot garage doors were also discussed.

City Planner Kristyn Bitz noted that the lack of clear standards has been a challenge. She said the current code provides recommendations, not firm requirements, which makes it harder for the city to make sure certain design standards are actually followed by housing developers.

This gap has contributed to what Bitz described as “cookie-cutter development,” built identical or nearly identical, that lacks unique architectural character.

“We are not the only city that is struggling with this issue right now,” Bitz said. “Cities from every county across the state, north or south, big or small, are tired of …‘cookie-cutter development.’”

Bitz added that the proposed update to the city’s municipal code would also help prevent “bait-and-switch” situations, where a developer purchases a project and then moves forward with designs that differ from those originally approved.

While the city has more flexibility when projects require approvals such as rezoning, staff said state housing laws like Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) still limit local control by allowing developers to subdivide properties and “build smaller, unimpressive homes.” Staff also noted that while statewide efforts are intended to increase housing supply, they have also reduced the city’s ability to make its own decisions for residential developments.

The Summerfield development at Twin Cities and Marengo Road was used as a recent example illustrating the need for stronger standards. The project was approved last year despite concerns from both the Planning Commission and City Council over design changes, largely because existing guidelines did not include enough specific requirements to challenge the revised plans.

The Summerfield project was first brought forward in 2024 by Homes by Towne, with its initial design being approved by the council. After the project was later sold to a new developer, the plans shifted away from the original “executive style” housing concept.

When the new developer returned to the Planning Commission in June 2025 with updated designs, commissioners rejected the proposal, saying it fell short of expectations and did not reflect the original concept. They also noted the city’s General Plan called for high-quality and distinctive neighborhood design.

 

Community Development Director Jenny Carloni speaks during the March 30 joint special meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. Photo by Idaly Valencia

However, because the city’s current code lacked those enforceable standards, the City Council ultimately upheld the developer’s appeal following the Planning Commission’s denial. The developer argued the plans met all objective requirements and said concerns raised were “subjective.” The city approved the project last September to avoid potential litigation under state law.

“I was so disappointed when I read our development guidelines; I saw that they had absolutely no teeth whatsoever,” commissioner Dan Gerling said.

Bitz said discussions with other cities and planning teams have highlighted the need for stronger “ingredients” in design codes to help preserve community character.

“We got to make the ingredients better than what they are, so the resulting cookie we get is what we want,” she added.

Community Development Director Jenny Carloni said the updated standards would be applied citywide but could be adjusted in the future if specific areas require additional review or refinement.

Commissioners and council members raised questions about how the standards would work in practice. Some expressed concern that stricter requirements could increase construction costs or limit design flexibility for builders.

Gerling said overly rigid standards could also discourage developers from building in Galt or affect project profitability.

“So that’s just taking away from our profit margin, which is already astronomically high,” Gerling said.

In response, City Manager Chris Erias said it is a complex issue because the city is trying to improve the quality of housing developments, which requires stronger guidelines that may increase costs for builders.

He said developers would need to go beyond using a preapproved home design to quickly move projects through the process and instead create plans tailored to Galt’s expectations, which can require more engineering and architectural work.

“The architect could pick out various things in each of these categories that, hopefully, come up with a variety of designs over the community and are dependent on the home builder,” Erias said.

 

City Manager Chris Erias addresses planning commissioners and City Council members during the March 30 joint special meeting at City Hall.

Staff added that there will be an option to allow exceptions when appropriate.

“The goal is to try to get some good architectural features into these homes,” he added. “So, it’s a good idea to have these objectives stand.”

Councilmember Shawn Farmer said stronger rules would give the city a starting point when working with developers and reduce decisions based on opinion.

“Right now, we’re playing poker with no chips at all,” Farmer said.

The joint meeting also addressed design clarity and process improvements, highlighting past confusion when multiple, inconsistent plan sets were presented and developers showed different designs at different stages. They agreed that developers should submit complete, consistent plans and use clearer visuals (such as 3-D renderings) to make the process easier to understand and improve decision-making.

For neighborhood compatibility, councilmembers and commissioners acknowledged the need to differentiate between suburban and infill development, suggesting that one-size-fits-all design standards may not work.

Key points included supporting walkability and connectivity through pathways and smaller block sizes, ensuring new and existing neighborhoods are compatible by avoiding two-story homes directly behind single-story homes. Grading and elevation differences were also addressed to reduce impacts on existing residents.

Proposed standards for second-story homes would limit upper floors to no more than 50% of the first-floor footprint in single-story neighborhoods to reduce privacy and visual impacts.

While stricter guidelines could improve neighborhood quality, there was broad agreement that any updates must remain flexible enough to encourage development and comply with state law.

This first study session was meant to serve as an early, foundational discussion on updating the residential design standards. City staff used the meeting to gather input from elected leaders and commissioners as they continue to develop a formal proposal to amend the city’s code for objective design standards, which will later go before the City Council for consideration.

City council members discuss potential updates to Galt’s residential design standards with planning commissioners and city staff during a joint special meeting March 30.