Westminster council advances citywide general plan and mixed‑use zoning changes, protects mobile home parks
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Summary
City staff presented a citywide zoning and general plan update that increases mixed‑use densities, adds public‑art and other code changes, and rezones eight mobile home parks for residential preservation; council directed staff to apply a planning commission civic‑center rezoning recommendation only to city‑owned parcels and moved the ordinance to first reading with corrected exhibits.
The Westminster City Council on March 25 moved forward with a city‑initiated package of general plan and zoning changes intended to encourage redevelopment along commercial corridors while preserving existing mobile home communities.
Contract planner Stephanie Tomaino told the council the City of Westminster is proposing a coordinated update to the general plan land use element, the zoning code (Title 17), and the zoning map. Key elements include consolidating the mixed‑use districts, raising allowable residential maximums (up to 90 units per acre for larger consolidated sites), adding a minimum density to discourage underutilization, and adding a new public‑art requirement for qualifying mixed‑use projects.
"This project does not approve any specific development proposal," Tomaino said, stressing that future projects would require separate applications and review. The package also includes four broad change categories: (a) higher‑density mixed‑use areas; (b) about 20 acres of expanded mixed‑use opportunity in three corridor locations; (c) a residential‑preservation approach for eight mobile home parks (rezoning those sites to an R‑3 residential designation to limit commercial conversion and high‑density by‑right redevelopment); and (d) a consistency cleanup for properties within existing specific plans.
Starla Barker, the environmental consultant on the team, said the council’s prior 2016 general plan EIR provided the baseline and that staff prepared a CEQA addendum showing no new significant environmental impacts beyond those previously analyzed.
Public commenters included Manuel Cardoso speaking for the Westminster School District, who said the district submitted a letter with preliminary questions and asked for continued coordination. Longtime commenter Terry Raines urged the council to preserve the civic center as public space and criticized earlier council conduct.
Council members discussed a planning commission recommendation to rezone the Civic Center area to public/semi‑public. City attorneys and staff warned that removing housing‑overlay sites could affect the city’s housing element compliance. The council agreed to apply the commission's Civic Center rezoning recommendation only to city‑owned properties (not county‑owned courthouse parcels) to avoid jeopardizing housing element provisions and potential state issues.
Councilmember Carlos Manzo made the motion to adopt a resolution and introduce the ordinance (first reading) to implement the package, with direction to staff to correct exhibits and return with the corrected documents and continued public‑hearing procedures. The motion carried on roll call 4–0.
What happens next: staff will prepare corrected exhibits and revised ordinance language reflecting the council’s direction and will return at a later meeting for formal action and final adoption steps. Any future private redevelopment proposals on rezoned parcels will require separate project approvals and environmental review as applicable.
