Westminster planning panel backs text change to allow commercial childcare in office and employment areas

The City of Westminster Planning Commission on Sept. 23 voted unanimously to recommend the City Council approve text amendments to the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan that would permit commercial childcare as a support commercial use in office and employment land-use categories and increase the percentage of gross floor area allowed for support commercial uses in certain employment areas.

City staff presented the amendments as a planning-level change only — not a rezoning or map amendment — intended to help employers attract and retain workers by making commercial childcare an allowed supportive use within neighborhood office, employment flex, and employment office land-use types. Adri Spurgeon, principal planner in the Community Services Department, told commissioners the change would allow childcare “to be viable at any land use in our comprehensive plan other than our parks and open space facilities.” Spurgeon also said the amendments would not alter the existing overall 15,000-square-foot cap for support commercial uses within a building.

The amendments would (1) add childcare to the list of optional,…