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Council postpones overhaul of event-center rules after extensive questions
Summary
Councilors pressed staff about parking, licensing, dual-use venues and nonretroactivity in a lengthy debate over Council Bill 19 (a new code section separating 'event centers' from 'live entertainment venues'). After detailed Q&A, council voted 7-0 to postpone the ordinance indefinitely so staff can revise the proposal.
Councilors and staff spent much of the June 8 meeting debating a proposed rewrite of Westminster’s land-use rules for event centers and live entertainment venues — a package that would create a new code section (11.4.20) and separate lower-impact event centers (private parties, weddings) from higher-impact live entertainment venues (ticketed concerts, larger public events).
Development Services presented the draft and said staff ‘recommends the city council pass councilor’s bill number 19 on 1st reading.’ Planning staff described new definitions, parking standards, and a special-use-permit (SUP) approach for higher-impact venues. Planning Manager John McConnell and Development Services Coordinator David German answered council questions about why the city would restrict live entertainment venues to stand-alone sites, how dual-use facilities would be treated, and what the nonretroactivity rules mean for existing businesses.
Councilor Johnson and others probed competitive impacts with neighboring cities and asked whether live venues could hold both types of permits or whether the definitions would be exclusive. Staff said the proposal is land-use focused (not licensing) and that existing legally operating venues would remain legal nonconforming uses; changes would not be retroactive. Staff noted only one existing venue appears clearly to meet the draft’s live-venue definition.
Councilors raised parking and separation concerns, particularly for downtown and specific-plan station areas that rely on shared parking decks; staff said those districts have separate regulating documents and will be addressed in upcoming station-area updates. Several councilors suggested allowing live venues to also host traditional private events (backwards compatibility) while keeping event centers from becoming concert halls.
Given the volume of requested changes and the desire for more specificity on licensing, parking, and review pathways, Councilor Johnson moved — and the council voted 7-0 — to postpone the item indefinitely so staff can rework the ordinance and incorporate council feedback.
Next steps: staff will return with a revised draft that addresses licensing coordination, parking standards, separation distances, specific-plan applicability, and an approach for council review of SUP decisions.
