Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Consideration of an Urgency Ordinance Placing a Moratorium on the Approval of Any Housing Development Project in the Housing Overlay which is Less Than 30 Dwelling Units Per Net Acre (Case No. 2025-0166).
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From: Sheri VanderDussen, Interim Community Development Director
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Sheri VanderDussen, Interim Community Development Director
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Adopt an Urgency Ordinance entitled, “AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 17.250.035 OF THE WESTMINSTER MUNICIPAL CODE TO AMEND THE MINIMUM DENSITY REQUIREMENT FOR THE HOUSING OVERLAY TO 30 DWELLING UNITS PER NET ACRE AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE TO BE EXEMPT FROM CEQA UNDER THE COMMON SENSE EXEMPTION OF CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15061(b)(3),” read by title only and waive further reading.
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BACKGROUND
The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2593 on December 14, 2022, which added Mixed-Use Zoning of MU 36 and MU 40, allowing a maximum of 36 and 40 dwelling units per acre, respectively (Chapter 17.260). This Ordinance also added a Housing Overlay which imposed a minimum 20 dwelling units per acre requirement on all housing inventory sites in the MU zones (Section 17.250.035). When the City Council adopted the Housing Element in March of 2023, Program 3 required the completion of rezoning all sites identified in the Site Inventory of the Housing Element (Appendix A) to establish new mixed-use regulations for multifamily dwellings to include a minimum density of 20 units per acre. However, the Housing Element anticipated a yield of 85 percent of maximum density for the new mixed-use sites in determining that there would be adequate site capacity to satisfy the City’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”). Applying an 85 percent maximum to the MU 36 and MU 40 zoning districts would provide for 31 and 34 dwelling units per acre, respectively.
The City has received inquiries about developing properties within the Housing Overlay sites at densities closer to 20 dwelling units per acre, which is less than 60 percent of the maximum density. If properties within the Housing Overlay sites are allowed to develop at densities as low as 20 dwelling units per acre, there will be a substantial shortfall of housing inventory sites to accommodate the City’s portion of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
To ensure that the housing inventory sites are developed at a density closer to what was anticipated in the Housing Element, staff is recommending that the Mayor and City Council adopt an Urgency Ordinance that will impose a moratorium on approving any housing development of less than 30 dwelling units per acre. An Urgency Ordinance is recommended because changes in housing law provide the ability to vest a project at the development standards in place on the day that a preliminary application is filed. It is necessary to immediately prevent lower density projects on the Housing Overlay sites.
Staff have already prepared a draft ordinance amending Section 17.250.035 of the Westminster Municipal Code to increase the minimum density from 20 to 30 dwelling units per acre. This draft ordinance has been notified for a public hearing before the Planning Commission for August 20, 2025, and will proceed to a public hearing before the City Council on September 10, 2025.
The Housing Overlay sites are all within the MU 36 and MU 40 zones. The Council may recall that efforts are underway to increase the permitted densities in these districts. The anticipated density increase is further justification to establish a minimum density standard.
It is important to note that no minimum density requirements would be placed on sites outside the Housing Overlay. Some of the sites excluded from the Overlay are within MU districts. Properties covered by Specific Plans and within other zoning districts, such as R-1 through R-5, are also outside the Housing Overlay. Thus, adoption of the Urgency Ordinance will leave ample opportunity for all types of development throughout the community.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of this Urgency Ordinance will not create a direct fiscal impact.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Adoption of this Urgency Ordinance will protect the policies behind the Housing Element and better enable the City to satisfy its RHNA. As this is an urgency ordinance, it requires a 4/5ths vote of the City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Urgency Ordinance
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager