Clovis could relax some apartment design rules, reduce parking and open spaces
The Clovis Planning Commission approved friendlier design rules for developers of apartment complexes, including requiring less parking, green space and area designated for children’s play, to incentivize developers to build more affordable housing units as the city tries to meet the requirements of a lawsuit settlement.
This is Clovis’ latest move to address a 2019 lawsuit brought by Fresno-area housing activist Dez Martinez that accused the city of violating state regulations by not planning for more affordable housing.
The major proposed changes include reducing parking space requirements, removing the mandate for large apartment complexes to provide children’s play areas, lowering open space requirements, and scrapping a frost window design rule for apartment buildings of two or more stories—created to prevent people from peeping into adjacent single-family homes, according to staff’s presentation at last Thursday’s commission meeting.
Developers are applauding the relaxed design rules, but city residents worry it could lower their quality of life and promote less-appealing future developments.
“In this report, I didn’t see any type of concern or consideration for future residents and their quality of life in these units,” said Alma Antuna, the chair of the five-member Clovis Planning Commission. “The open space per unit is being reduced by about 50%. The private areas, such as patios and balconies, are being reduced by about 40%.”
“For me, it raises a broader policy concern regarding the message being conveyed to future residents. These could be our kids or grandkids, other people coming in, first-time homebuyers,” she said
The commission passed the revised standards 3-1, with one member absent. The provision won’t take effect until the city council’s adoption. It is not yet determined when it would go before the city council, officials said.
Per the lawsuit settlement, Clovis has enacted a series of changes to regulations and local zoning rules to promote affordable housing, including adopting a mixed-income housing ordinance that requires developers to set aside at least 5% of the new residential units as affordable, and redesignating 20 underutilized parcels for high- or very-high-density residential land within established neighborhoods.
Though the city hasn’t received actual proposals for the 20 infill parcels, the planning department is putting forward updates to design standards to address developers’ practical challenges when creating apartments on those rezoned lots.
Antuna, who voted against the new standards, said she understands the city needs to create space for more housing, but she’s concerned about what future development will be created.
“For me, it raises a broader policy concern regarding the message being conveyed to future residents. These could be our kids or grandkids, other people coming in, first-time homebuyers,” Antuna said.
Meanwhile, developers have requested additional flexibility or administrative discretion regarding the city’s design requirements.
“The combination of increased setbacks, open space requirements, circulation standards, architectural requirements, utility screening, and fire access standards may substantially reduce site efficiency and increase development costs,” wrote Darius Assemi, owner of Granville Homes, in a letter in response to the city’s public outreach.
Design standards tailored to builders
The design standards serve as minimum requirements and they will apply to multifamily residential and mixed-use development projects, according to the city document.
In this revision, one measure addressing homeowners’ concerns is adding a 15-foot setback between apartment buildings and single-family homes. Of those, 5 feet must be a landscaped area, while the remaining 10 feet may be used for driveway, walkway, parking, or other purposes, according to the city document.
However, the vast majority of the proposed changes focus on lowering existing standards to make it easier and less costly for developers to build, and make it possible to construct more housing units on a fixed-size plot of land.
The current standards mandate apartment complexes to set aside open space at a rate of 260 square feet per unit, which means public and private outdoor areas such as lawns, benches, trees, and private patios. The proposed standards relax the open space requirements for buildings on high- and very-high-density lots, adjusting the common open space up to 135 square feet per unit, depending on the number of units in the complex.
Under existing rules, complexes with 25 or more units must provide a children’s play area of 600 square feet with play equipment and fences. The new standards permit developers to choose two amenities from a list of options, such as a shaded picnic area, open lawn, swimming pool, fenced dog play area, and gym room.
McKencie Perez, deputy city planner, said developers find it hard to always accommodate children’s play structures in the complex, such as when the project is apartments for seniors.
Another major revision is parking availability. Clovis’s new ordinance reduces the number of parking spots from two spaces for one- and two-bedroom units to one parking spot for one-bedroom apartments and 1.5 parking spaces for two-bedroom apartments. For three-bedroom units, the parking will be decreased from three spots to two.
Perez told commissioners that staff had conducted on-site inspections in mornings and evenings, and they did not find the complexes’ parking lots packed.
“We’re trying to find a balance, I don’t think we reduced it enough for developers, because they would have liked something lower,” Perez said. “But also accommodating reduction for development, because we are required to provide additional housing and more density, so one way to do that is through reduced parking.”
One controversial amendment is removing a rule that requires apartment buildings with two or more stories adjacent to single-family homes to obscure, frost, or orient windows to prevent direct views from inside or outside. Clovis residents and planning commissioners worried their privacy would be compromised.
“We’ve heard from the development community that trying to orient buildings or make floor plans so that their bedrooms don’t face (the single-family homes), it just makes it difficult,” Perez said. “Then frosting, obviously, you can do that, but the unit may become less appealing to renters, because you probably don’t get the natural light that you would from a regular window.”
Antuna said she thinks the city has not done enough to assess the impact on nearby residents. An apartment complex was built across the street from her own home, and she felt exposed when some trees between the parcels were removed, she said.
“We need to be conscientious of the people who are already in those neighborhoods, and how they’re going to feel, they’ve had a vacant lot for a very long time, and now you’re building three- or four-story apartments that are going to go right into their backyards and orienting windows in that direction,” Antuna said. “I understand what you said about renters wanting to have natural light, but the neighbors also want to have privacy.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 4:41 PM.
