Objective Design and Development Standards: More Housing, Great Places

Objective Design and Development Standards (ODDS) have been getting a lot of attention lately as laws are passed across the country seeking to streamline new housing developments. Requirements by states to include ODDS in local zoning codes mean big changes to the way many communities currently regulate and review development.

Objective Design and Development Standards: Empowering Planners to Enable Great Places

In our first post, we introduced Objective Design and Development Standards (ODDS), wrote about its origins, its impact on housing production, and shared some common opinions about ODDS. We called for Planners to use ODDS to engage in housing production, placemaking and community design to a greater extent than they often do now. Here are some ways we think Planners can do just that. 

Town of Sebastopol Adopts Objective Design Standards

Opticos Design is proud to announce its significant contribution to the newly adopted Objective Design Standards in Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California.

Micro Units and Courtyard Housing: Are They Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate?

I wanted to share a short summary of an infill housing project we are working on that I am excited about. I feel that this can serve as a great model that can inform other projects focused on including smaller units, or micro units, as a tool to deliver attainability, but without compromising on livability. Maybe this is something you have been considering?   Based on what we are seeing with costs of housing and the desire to live in walkable urban locations, I feel this type of micro unit housing could be viable in most markets, even in smaller towns.

Bringing Middle Housing to Washington Cities and Towns

Opticos Design recently produced a Toolkit for the State of Washington to help bring more Middle Housing to cities and towns as part of their “Planning for Housing” initiative