Council remands Uplands filing B‑2 ODP to planning commission after wide public opposition to new access and view impacts

Westminster city council on Aug. 11 remanded for further review the official development plan (ODP) for Uplands Filing B‑2, a proposed 26‑lot single‑family detached neighborhood on the southwest corner of Lowell Boulevard and Bradburn Drive. Staff had recommended denial, citing multiple exceptions to the city’s standards, site grading challenges and traffic concerns; planning commissioners had recommended approval 4–1. Council voted 5–1 to send the application back to the planning commission with specific direction.

Staff told council the ODP does not meet Section 11‑5‑15 of the Westminster Municipal Code and related preliminary development plan (PDP) conditions because it requests reductions to setbacks and landscape areas, proposes a private alley and an alley connection to West 80 Second Avenue, and relies on an atypical configuration to reach the proposed unit count. Principal planner Jacob Kaza said the proposal produces lot sizes and setbacks substantially smaller than the adjacent Gregory Hill neighborhood and creates potential traffic and utility impacts the plan does not adequately mitigate.

The applicant…