Highland, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

The City of Highland, in San Bernardino County, California, has no separate downtown design manual. The design standards for its town center sit in Chapter 16.22, the Mixed Use District. Section 16.22.010 describes a Town Center Mixed Use District and says development proposals there are reviewed for consistency with the preferred pattern of development shown in the community design element of the general plan. It adds that a high quality of design and attention to detail are expected.

Section 16.22.050 is the working checklist. It says the guidelines shall be used to review projects within the Mixed Use Districts, and that Illustratives 1 through 3 define the desirable features and character. On entrances, all primary building entries shall face a public street or a connecting walkway, buildings shall be oriented toward the street, and corner buildings shall mark the corner with plazas, added height, angled corners, enhanced materials, special color treatments or another notable architectural feature. Plazas and courtyards should have a visual focal point such as a sculpture, fountain, historical reference, public art display or entertainment.

Parking structures get their own rules: ground-floor street frontages should be devoted to retail uses, and the facade shall use building materials and design features that reflect the surrounding buildings. Loading docks and storage areas belong at the rear of buildings or within a parking structure, and any view of them from public streets, connecting walkways or residences shall be screened with walls, trellises, tall landscaping or an equivalent feature. Trash enclosures shall be located away from residential uses and designed to reflect the architectural style of the project.

The architectural rules are the most specific. A building and its trellises, planters and light standards shall share one consistent style. Roof lines shall feature parapets, occasional towers and gables rather than flat, horizontal lines. No building wall should have a blank, uninterrupted length exceeding 20 feet without a change in texture, a change in plane (two-foot minimum), a window, public art, lattice, a tree or an equivalent element. Ceramic tile, granite and marble are encouraged on the base of buildings facing streets or connecting walkways.

The old townsite is handled separately. Section 16.20.020 says buildings in the Village Commercial District must reflect the townsite's architectural theme, and § 16.56.140 sends new Village Commercial signs to the historic and cultural preservation board for recommendations, with the community development director approving the permits.