The Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 21 voted to recommend approval of the Wakefield Valley development‑plan amendment DP 2401 (parcels W and X) to the mayor and common council, subject to nine conditions intended to preserve and improve open space, trails and transportation connections.

At the public hearing the applicant (represented by Kelly Schafer Miller and a team including Marty Hackett, Richard Kress, Joe Rudder and Mike Lenhart) said the amendment addresses subsection 3 of ordinance section 164‑188(j) regarding vehicular and pedestrian circulation and that a more detailed traffic impact analysis will be reviewed later with a preliminary subdivision plan. Staff and the applicant explained that approval of the development plan does not itself approve final subdivision plats; any preliminary subdivision would return to the commission and be subject to more in‑depth traffic and county review (Bell Road is a county road that controls access).

Key items discussed during the hearing included: how open space parcels would be conveyed (Carroll Lutheran Village indicated it would be amenable to dedication of a parcel to the city); refurbishment or reconstruction of existing unpaved “cart‑path” trails; timing of trail construction so that use and occupancy for adjacent lots would not be granted until the associated trails are in place; stormwater management configuration and possible abandonment or revision of existing stormwater‑management easement lines to recapture usable open space; and installation of a sidewalk along Bell Road (a county roadway) by the developer to close a local gap in pedestrian connectivity.

Staff presented a set of seven recommendations in the staff report and the commission’s motion removed one parking‑related condition from staff’s list and added three conditions read into the record by the motion maker: (1) abandonment and return to the city of any unused portion of the stormwater‑management easement on Parcel Y, (2) construction and improvement of all new and existing trails on Parcels X and W by the developer and dedication or public‑access conveyance to the city, and (3) installation of a sidewalk along Bell Road by the developer. The commission’s motion therefore resulted in nine conditions total (six of the staff report conditions plus the three new items).

Commissioners and staff discussed traffic information submitted in 02/2025 and 08/2025 (as referenced in the packet) and agreed a more detailed traffic review will occur with the preliminary subdivision plan; staff noted the county will review access and mitigation because access to Bell Road is controlled by Carroll County. Commissioners pressed for assurances that trail improvements and other open‑space work would be completed with the development rather than deferred after lots were occupied; staff and the applicant said the developer would repair existing trails and construct new trails and that the commission could condition use and occupancy on those improvements.

The motion to recommend approval to the mayor and common council passed on a voice vote. The commission’s recommendation will be prepared in a written decision and submitted to the mayor and common council, which will hold its own public hearing and make the final decision on the development‑plan amendment.