The City of Oakdale has determined that all types of new development shall compliment and enhance the physical form of our community. It is our expectation that new development will address issues of community, place and identity through the toughtful placement of buildings, service and parking areas, and open space/outside materials storage areas. In 1993, the City Council adopted the Oakdale General Plan, establishing a long-term policy to guide the physical development of our community through the year 2015. Chapter 7.4 of the Oakdale General Plan includes identification of the City's desires for its community appearance, including special needs for Oakdale's gateways and arterial corridors.

Two years later, in 1995, the Oakdale Planning Commission and City Council acknowledged that property owners, developers, and builders would best be able to meet the City’s expectations for enhancing its community design if these expectations were clearly identified through adopted principles or standards.  The Commission and Council considered and adopted by Resolution a set of very broad design principles to guide the future expansion and development of Oakdale’s urban form.  These design principles, based upon the nationally-recognized Ahwahnee Principles Toward More Livable Communities, are identified as Oakdale’s Specific Plan Design Principles.

This document has been now been prepared to more specifically identify these City design expectations in the context of new industrial and business employment developments.  The text and illustrations contained herein give a clearer picture of the design expectations of the Planning Commission and City Council in actual application. These expectations complement the mandatory property development regulations contained in the Zoning Code by providing good examples of potential design solutions and by providing design interpretations of the various mandatory regulations.

As part of each new industrial development application, particularly a planned development or site plan review, each developer or builder will be asked to complete a self-certification checklist responding to the question of how their proposal conforms to the City’s design expectations as identified herein.  City staff will review the self-certification checklist and may provide a summary report to the Planning Commission including any recommendations for modifications in order to achieve design.

A printed copy of the City of Oakdale's Industrial Design Expectations is available for view or purchase at the public counter in the Community Development office. Cost for purchasing a printed copy is $15. You may also view and download a PDF version of the Industrial Design Expectations by clicking on the link provided below.

City of Oakdale Industrial Design Expectations

You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view this file. Click on the Adobe icon at the bottom of this page to download the program for free. For more information on the City of Oakdale's Industrial Design Expectations, please contact us at (209) 845-3625.