Planning commission recommends Westminster update code to align with SB 9, allows up to four units on R‑1 lots

The Westminster Planning Commission voted 3‑0 on Sept. 3 to recommend that the City Council adopt a zoning text amendment (Case 2025‑0176) to revise municipal code provisions implementing SB 9 and related state guidance.

Alice, Associate Planner for the planning division, told the commission that “SB 9 ... first became law on Jan. 1, 2022,” and that the city must update local code language to match later clarifications from the state Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). Alice said the update responds to HCD guidance and a subsequent legislative update cited in staff materials as SB 450.

The proposal would allow a maximum of four units on an R‑1 single‑family lot without a lot split (two primary units plus an ADU and a JADU), and a maximum of two units…