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Westminster staff outline package of housing tools including ADU pilot, inclusionary ordinance and housing fund
Summary
City staff presented a set of housing recommendations to Westminster City Council on Sept. 22, describing federal funding streams, proposed programs (ADU pilot, expedited permitting, housing fund, down‑payment assistance), and next steps including staff follow‑up and grant applications.
Vivian Del Pizzo, the city’s housing administrator, told Westminster City Council on Sept. 22 that staff have been pursuing a range of housing actions and presented five recommendations including an accessory dwelling unit pilot, an inclusionary housing ordinance and creation of a housing fund.
The presentation outlined current federal and state funding the city uses for housing and described staff-recommended policy and program options. “Housing is hard,” Del Pizzo said, summarizing the scope of the challenge and the need for multiple tools.
The recommendations: create an expedited review process for projects that include a significant share of affordable units; pursue an ADU pilot program with pre‑approved plans and a toolkit; explore an inclusionary housing ordinance with fee‑in‑lieu options; create a housing‑specific fund to provide gap financing; and study a down‑payment assistance program targeted to local needs.
Why it matters: Westminster staff said the suite of actions aims to increase production across the “housing continuum” — from emergency supports and rental assistance through preservation and middle‑income ownership — and to meet the city’s Prop 123 goals for additional units by 2026.
Key details provided by staff - Funding currently used or available: HOME funds (reported at about $250,000 per year), CDBG (about $550,000 per year), and private activity bond allocations (described as roughly $7,000,000 per year available for assignment to projects). Staff said year‑to‑date they have rehabilitated roughly 12 owner‑occupied homes and about 302 multifamily units through existing programs. - Prop 123 targets: staff said Westminster is ahead of the stated goal and reported work to add several hundred units (staff noted numbers during the presentation and said they would verify exact totals). - Regulatory approach: staff proposed an inclusionary ordinance that would offer incentives and a fee‑in‑lieu option rather than a strict mandate, and explained the tradeoffs developers often cite when federal funding is used (additional Davis‑Bacon, Section 3 and other requirements that can increase project cost).
Council and public reaction Several council members said they supported studying the inclusionary housing option and the ADU pilot. One councilor said a down‑payment assistance program could help first‑time buyers, referencing a personal experience using CHFA assistance. Council members repeatedly asked staff to confirm infrastructure capacity — water and power — before approving large new projects, echoing constituent concerns mentioned earlier in the meeting.
Staff direction and next steps Staff said they will: - Continue developing an expedited review pathway for affordable projects in coordination with planning and building departments. - Pursue a grant application that could fund an ADU toolkit of preapproved plan sets and templates to reduce construction cost and time for residents. - Explore creation of a housing fund that could receive cash‑in‑lieu payments from developers and provide gap financing for affordable projects. - Continue searching for external grants and partners to manage complex programs such as down‑payment assistance.
No council vote or ordinance adoption occurred at the Sept. 22 meeting; staff sought direction and will return with more detail. Council also asked staff to provide follow‑up information on infrastructure capacity (water, sewer, power) for proposed large developments before future approvals.
Community context and constraints Staff emphasized that federal dollars (CDBG, HOME) come with compliance burdens and monitoring requirements that can complicate use on private developments. The presentation noted that privately funded affordable housing developers sometimes avoid federalizing projects because the added regulatory requirements can increase costs by an amount staff estimated in the presentation (a developer estimate cited as around 10–12%).
Ending Council encouraged staff to return with more detailed proposals and with additional data on infrastructure capacity and precise unit counts. Staff said they would follow up by email and bring project‑level details on future agendas if council directs further action.
