Planning Commission unanimously recommends approval of Uplands Filing 4 (D1) ODP

The City of Westminster Planning Commission unanimously recommended on April 22 that City Council approve the Official Development Plan (ODP) for Uplands Filing 4, also described in hearing materials as the D1 neighborhood. The commission voted 7-0 after a staff presentation, a developer briefing and a public comment period in which neighbors raised questions about traffic, fire access, fencing and district financing.

City planning staff told the commission the public hearing was properly noticed and that notices were mailed to 2,293 property owners and tenants within 1,000 feet of the parcel, seven public notification signs were posted on the subject property and the project materials were posted on the city website. "The agenda memo, its associated attachments, tonight's power point presentation, the public notices published in the Westminster window, the mailed notices, and the posted notices are hereby entered into the public record at this time," Jacob Cozza, principal planner, said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The ODP would allow 94 homes on the southeast corner of Federal Boulevard and West 80th Avenue and change the site layout from previous Planned Development (PDP) approvals in order to accommodate steep topography, a public view corridor to downtown Denver and expanded publicly accessible private park (PLD) space. If City Council approves the ODP, the project will proceed to civil construction plans, platting and building permits before homes are built and sold.

Project details and approvals - Units and housing types: The developer and design team described a total of 94 homes across three housing types: 2-story tuck-under townhomes fronting West 80th (with optional rooftop decks), 3-story single-family detached homes (alley-loaded, with optional rooftop decks) and 2-story single-family detached front-loaded homes with walkout basements where grades allow. - Park and view corridor: The applicant said the design preserves a roughly 3.06-acre view corridor along the east side of Federal Boulevard and provides about 4.27 acres of public land dedication and a larger-than-typical amount of publicly accessible private park space inside the neighborhood. The applicant said the neighborhood’s publicly accessible private park will include a small dog park and multiuse terraces and will be privately maintained but open to the public. - Parking: The project team said the ODP provides 296 parking spaces versus a stated code requirement of 283 spaces for the neighborhood (applicant figures presented at the hearing). - Stormwater and detention: The submitted civil plans show a detention pond at the low point of the site. The engineering consultant said the pond discharges to the existing storm system that runs through the tract; the outlet structure includes an emergency outlet and a spillway toward existing downstream conditions. - Solar readiness: The project architect and builder said the homes are being designed to be "solar ready." "Yes, the homes are solar ready," Greg Say of Dreamliners Homes said during public questioning, and the architect added roof geometry meets minimum solar-area requirements. - Exceptions requested: The applicant requested several exceptions from PDP standards to respond to steep grades and to provide a mix of housing: reduced on-lot setbacks for compact homes, a limited increase in building height (an additional 5 feet for a center row of 3-story homes to allow rooftop decks), removal of berms along West 80th in favor of landscape treatments, and some driveway/parking layout variations consistent with prior Uplands neighborhoods. The applicant said total parking meets or exceeds city code though configured differently than a standard subdivision layout.

Public comments and applicant responses Three members of the public spoke at the hearing. Concerns raised included emergency vehicle access and the need for adequate turnarounds and cul-de-sacs, whether Bryant Street/alley access would be open at all hours for safety and fire access, potential future traffic-signal warrants at Clay Street and 80th Avenue, who would maintain narrow spaces between new homes and existing neighboring properties, and how metro district financing and multiple developers within the larger Uplands site would operate.

Applicant and city responses included: - Two access points: the applicant confirmed there are two points of access to the neighborhood — a main access aligned with Clay Street on West 80th and a second access via an alley connection to Bryant Street — and said the internal road (West 80 Third Drive) meets a 59-foot right-of-way and includes a cul-de-sac and alley loops to meet fire apparatus needs. - Fire and access: the developer said fire staff were closely involved in design; Bryant Street/alley access will remain open and meet fire access requirements. The applicant said certain internal intersections and lane widths were designed specifically to accommodate aerial apparatus and ladder trucks. - Traffic and signals: City engineering staff said 80th Avenue will be widened along the project frontage (about 16 feet of additional asphalt on the south side, new curb/gutter, detached tree lawn and an 8-foot sidewalk), bike lanes in both directions and additional street lighting. The city and applicant said a traffic signal at Clay and 80th is not currently warranted based on the traffic analysis performed for 94 units, but the city will monitor warrants and crash data and may pursue a signal in the future if warranted. - Maintenance, ownership and finance: The applicant said the larger Uplands development is covered by a metropolitan district for trunk infrastructure; this neighborhood will have an HOA/sub-HOA responsible for maintenance of on-site private streets, parks and certain improvements. The developer said metro-district-eligible expenses fund major street and utility work across Uplands. - Timeline and prices: The applicant said civil construction drawings and final plat work would continue after ODP approval, with civil construction likely the following year and model/home building beginning as soon as 2027. The project team estimated initial home pricing in the "6 hundreds" (developer phrasing), noting exact pricing and absorption depend on market conditions.

Formal action Vice Chair Carpenter moved that the commission recommend City Council approve the Official Development Plan for Uplands Filing 4. The motion was seconded (second not specified in the record) and the commission conducted a roll-call vote. Commissioners Kinnear, Jeong, Mayo, Vice Chair Carpenter, Chair Bossert, Dunne and Tomacek each voted yes; the motion passed unanimously 7-0.

Next steps and context The recommendation advances to City Council for final action. The applicant said remaining steps include completion of civil construction documents and final platting; the team expects to pursue those approvals later in 2025 with civil construction in 2026 and homes possibly delivered beginning in 2027, depending on market conditions and permitting timelines.

The hearing record for this item includes the staff agenda memo, public notices, the ODP materials and the project presentation entered into the record during Jacob Cozza's remarks.