Reedley — Design Review

Last reviewed: July 2, 2026

Overview

In Reedley the principal mechanism that functions as design review is the City’s Site Plan Review process; formal standalone Architectural Design Review is currently reserved (no active standards) under § 10.98. Site Plan Review is the discretionary checklist the Community Development Director uses to evaluate layout, circulation, landscaping, signs, and architectural materials for projects in specific zones (most notably RCO, UR, RM, PO, CC, CS, ML, and MH) under § 10.96.020 . Reedley also contains a set of objective multi‑unit design and architectural standards that apply to qualifying residential projects in Chapter 10.56 .

Note: this page explains how the Reedley Zoning Code treats design/architectural review and site plan review. For building-code compliance see the California Building Standards Code; for parking, setbacks, overlays, ADUs, signage, and landscaping refer to the linked topic pages below for jurisdictional cross‑checks: the words below are linked to the City menu for quick navigation — Reedley Zoning, Reedley Development Standards, Reedley Parking, Reedley Overlay Districts, Reedley ADUs, Reedley Historic Preservation, Reedley Signage, and the California Building Standards Code.

• The City’s main zoning/code overview is at Reedley Zoning (/us/california/reedley).
• Development standards and setbacks are collected at Reedley Development Standards (/us/california/reedley/development-standards).
• Parking rules live at Reedley Parking (/us/california/reedley/parking).
• Overlay and special zones are at Reedley Overlay Districts (/us/california/reedley/overlay-districts).
• ADU rules are at Reedley ADUs (/us/california/reedley/adu).
• Historic and signage topics are at Reedley Historic Preservation (/us/california/reedley/historic-preservation) and Reedley Signage (/us/california/reedley/signage).
• The State building code is at California Building Standards Code (/us/california/building-codes).

How Reedley handles "Design Review" (legal framework)

• Site Plan Review is the operative discretionary design review tool. Its stated purpose is to “provide standards and procedures for the review of applicable development and land use applications” and to allow the Community Development Director to determine consistency with the General Plan and this Title § 10.96.010 .
• Applicability: Site Plan Review applies to “all land uses within the RCO, UR, RM, PO, CC, CS, ML, and MH zoning districts” and to “any land use subject to architectural design review by the provisions of Chapter 10.98” (which is reserved) — § 10.96.020 .
• The Architectural Design Review chapter is currently reserved; there are no active separate architectural review procedures in § 10.98 (marked “Reserved”) — § 10.98 .
• Application contents and completeness: a complete Site Plan Review application must include narrative, operational statement, site plans, elevations, three‑dimensional renderings and other supporting materials; completeness is determined within 30 calendar days — § 10.96.030 and § 10.96.040 .
• Decision timeline and appeal: after deemed complete the Director has 45 calendar days to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove; Director actions may be appealed per the appeals procedures — § 10.96.050 .
• Findings and conditions: The Director must find the site plan complies with the Title and General Plan, protects pedestrian/vehicular safety and avoids adverse effects on surrounding property; conditions can include setbacks, fencing, parking surfacing, street dedications, signage compliance, landscaping, noise/odors, mitigation measures, bonds, and time limits — § 10.96.060 and § 10.96.070 .
• Effectivity: Site Plan Review approvals become effective on the eleventh calendar day after Director action unless appealed — § 10.96.070.B .
• Site Plan approvals run with the land — § 10.96.140 .

District-by-district breakdown (where Site Plan Review functions as design review)

The Reedley Code ties Site Plan Review to the following zoning districts. For each district below I summarize what the zoning code materials retrieved say about design review applicability and give references to the land‑use tables when present. Where the code text does not list dimensional numbers or full use tables in the retrieved excerpts I state that explicitly — verify with the jurisdiction if you need parcel‑level standards.

Note: each district name below is bolded and every district listed is explicitly named in the Site Plan Review applicability clause § 10.96.020 .

RCO (Resource Conservation/Open Space)

• Purpose in code: RCO appears in Table 10.16‑A as a Special Purpose zone; the table lists allowed land uses and notes that Site Plan and Design Review may be required prior to establishment of a use — see Table 10.16‑A and § 10.16 references .
• Typical permitted uses: includes agriculture, wildlife preserve and other resource/open uses per Table 10.16‑A — Table 10.16‑A .
• Key dimensional standards: Not found in retrieved materials for RCO specific setbacks/height/coverage — Verify with the jurisdiction and the full Table/Chapter covering development standards (see Reedley Development Standards) .
• Where Site Plan Review applies: all land uses in RCO are subject to Site Plan Review per § 10.96.020 .

UR (Urban Reserve / Special Purpose)

• Purpose/uses: UR shown alongside RCO in Table 10.16‑A; Site Plan Review may be required for UR uses — Table 10.16‑A and § 10.16 .
• Typical permitted uses: Table 10.16‑A identifies permitted/conditional uses for UR (e.g., agriculture and some community uses) — see Table 10.16‑A .
• Key dimensional standards: Not found in retrieved excerpts — Verify with Reedley Development Standards and the full zoning tables .
• Site Plan Review: Applies to all UR uses per § 10.96.020 .

RM (Multi‑Unit Residential)

• Purpose: RM (multi‑unit residential) is explicitly listed in Site Plan Review applicability; Chapter 10.56 provides multi‑unit design and architectural standards that apply to qualifying projects (objective standards, separation, entries, open space, etc.) — § 10.96.020 and § 10.56.020–050 .
• Typical permitted uses: multi‑family dwellings (duplexes, apartments, condominiums, townhouses) — Chapter 10.56 defines applicability to multi‑unit residential structures § 10.56.020.B .
• Key dimensional/design standards (explicit, code‑text): Chapter 10.56 includes objective standards for multi‑unit projects: minimum 10 ft separation between structures, controlled vehicular entries 20 ft from property line, pedestrian entry walkways 4 ft minimum; blank wall articulation rules (e.g., material/color change every 30 ft, projecting windows every 15 ft) are part of the architectural standards — § 10.56.040–050 .
• Site Plan Review: RM projects are subject to Site Plan Review and may also be subject to the multi‑unit standards or the streamlined approval pathway in § 10.56 depending on eligibility — § 10.96.020 and § 10.56.020 .

PO (Professional Office)

• Purpose/uses: PO is named in § 10.96.020 among zones where Site Plan Review applies; Table references elsewhere indicate Site Plan Review may be required for certain office/commercial uses in the land use tables — § 10.96.020 and Table references (various land use tables) .
• Typical permitted uses: professional offices and selected commercial services (see applicable land‑use tables) — Table references in the Title .
• Key dimensional standards: Not found in retrieved excerpts (check Reedley Development Standards tables) — Verify with the jurisdiction .
• Site Plan Review: Applies to PO land uses under § 10.96.020 .

CC (Community Commercial) and CS (Commercial Service)

• Purpose/uses: CC and CS are included in the list of districts subject to Site Plan Review; land use tables identify differing permitted/conditional commercial uses and note Site Plan Review may be required — § 10.96.020 and Table 10.14‑A/10.16‑A references .
• Typical permitted uses: retail, services, some commercial/office uses — see the land‑use tables for exact allowances per zone (Table 10.14‑A and 10.16‑A) .
• Key dimensional standards: Not found in the retrieved material excerpt — Verify with Reedley Development Standards and relevant zone tables .
• Site Plan Review: Required for CC and CS land uses as noted in § 10.96.020 .

ML (Light Industrial) and MH (Heavy Industrial)

• Purpose/uses: Table 10.14‑A lists industrial uses and indicates that Site Plan Review may be required for ML and MH zone uses — Table 10.14‑A and § 10.14 references .
• Typical permitted uses: manufacturing, warehousing, contractor yards, recycling, some processing uses — shown in Table 10.14‑A .
• Key dimensional/operational standards relevant to review: Table notes and Site Plan Review conditions explicitly allow consideration of off‑street parking, loading, setbacks and screening; specific industrial performance standards (e.g., screening along residential interfaces) are referenced elsewhere and are imposed through Site Plan conditions — see § 10.96.060 for the kinds of conditions the Director can impose (fences, surfacing, landscaping, signage, ingress/egress) .
• Site Plan Review: All ML and MH uses may be subject to Site Plan Review per § 10.96.020 .

Quick reference table — when design/site plan review applies (decision‑relevant)

Checklist

An applicant for Site Plan Review should be ready to provide (per § 10.96.030–040 and related chapters):

• Completed application form and fee (Master Fee Schedule) — § 10.96.030
• Written narrative and operational statement describing uses, hours, operations — § 10.96.030
• Site plan (dimensioned), building elevations, and 3‑D renderings showing materials and colors — § 10.96.030
• Landscaping and screening plans (if applicable) — § 10.96.060
• Parking plan in compliance with Reedley parking standards — (see Reedley Parking) and § 10.96.060
• Lighting and sign details consistent with Chapter 10.40 (Sign Regulations) — § 10.96.060
• Erosion/drainage and surfacing details for parking/service areas — § 10.96.060
• Evidence of compliance or proposed mitigation for noise, odors, and other environmental effects; CEQA documentation where required — § 10.96.060 and CEQA chapters
• For multi‑unit projects, show compliance with Chapter 10.56 architectural/site standards or identify Director’s Discretion requests — § 10.56.020–050

Risks & Ambiguities

Plain-English Summary

Reedley does not currently run a separate “architectural commission” style design review program; instead, the Community Development Director uses the Site Plan Review process to evaluate and condition the appearance, layout, circulation, landscaping, signage, and other site features for projects in the RCO, UR, RM, PO, CC, CS, ML, and MH districts (§ 10.96.020). Multi‑unit housing projects have a set of objective architectural/site standards in Chapter 10.56 that apply when the project seeks streamlined approval (§ 10.56.040–050) .

Source References

• Reedley Zoning Code — Site Plan Review: § 10.96.010–140 (purpose, applicability, application filing, completeness, processing, conditions, findings, appeals, revocation, approvals) .
• Reedley Zoning Code — Architectural Design Review: § 10.98 (Reserved) .
• Reedley Zoning Code — Multi‑Unit Dwelling Design Standards: Chapter 10.56 (objective standards, architectural standards, site planning standards) § 10.56.020–050 .
• Reedley Zoning Code — Land Use Tables / Special Purpose and Industrial Zones (Table 10.16‑A, Table 10.14‑A) — notes that Site Plan Review may be required per table entries .
• Reedley Zoning Code excerpts showing projections, setbacks, and related standards (Table 10.30‑A) — examples of how projections and encroachments are regulated .
• Reedley Zoning Code — Zone Clearance, Variances, Minor Deviation process references (Chapters 10.82, 10.94, 10.102) for related relief or modifications that interact with site/design review .

Retrieved passages

• Reedley Zoning Code (Section 10.96.080) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (Chapter is) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (Chapter are) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (CHAPTER 10.94) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (CHAPTER 10.96) High relevance show source text
• CBC § 10.30.050 (Section 10.30.050) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (ARTICLE 6.) High relevance show source text
• Reedley Zoning Code (Section 10.96.030) High relevance show source text

Cited sections

• Reedley Zoning Code — Site Plan Review: **§ 10.96.010–140** (purpose, applicability, application filing, completeness, processing, conditions, findings, appeals, revocation, approvals) . (§ 10.96.010)
• Reedley Zoning Code — Architectural Design Review: **§ 10.98** (Reserved) . (§ 10.98)
• Reedley Zoning Code — Multi‑Unit Dwelling Design Standards: **Chapter 10.56** (objective standards, architectural standards, site planning standards) **§ 10.56.020–050** . (Chapter 10.56)
• Reedley Zoning Code — Land Use Tables / Special Purpose and Industrial Zones (Table **10.16‑A**, Table **10.14‑A**) — notes that Site Plan Review may be required per table entries .
• Reedley Zoning Code excerpts showing projections, setbacks, and related standards (Table **10.30‑A**) — examples of how projections and encroachments are regulated .
• Reedley Zoning Code — Zone Clearance, Variances, Minor Deviation process references (**Chapters 10.82, 10.94, 10.102**) for related relief or modifications that interact with site/design review .
• Reedley_ZoningCode.md

• Official Reedley code library