Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing - Case No. 2025-0176 - A Request to Amend Chapter 16.12 Division of Land by Parcel Map for an Urban Lot Split and Section 17.400.122 SB 9 Two-Unit Housing Development in the R1 District of the Westminster Municipal Code.
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publichearing
• Staff Report
• Mayor and City Council Questions for Staff
• Public Comments
• Mayor and Council Member Discussion
• Council Action
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From: Steven A. Mendoza, Interim Community Development Director Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Alice Tieu, Associate Planner
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
The Planning Commission recommends that the Mayor and City Council consider and introduce for first reading an Ordinance entitled, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT (CASE NO. 2025-0176) AMENDING TITLE 16 OF THE WESTMINSTER MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 16.12 DIVISION OF LAND BY PARCEL MAP FOR AN URBAN LOT SPLIT AND TITLE 17, SECTION 17.400.122 OF THE WESTMINSTER MUNICIPAL CODE SB 9 TWO-UNIT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE R1 DISTRICT,” read by title only and waive further reading.
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BACKGROUND
In 2021, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) into law, which became effective on January 1, 2022. SB 9 added two new sections to the Government Code (65852.21 and 66411.7). Section 65852.21 requires that local agencies must by law ministerially approve, without discretion or hearing, a housing development of no more than two residential units on a single-family residential zone lot when the proposed development meets certain requirements. Similarly, Section 66411.7 requires a local agency to ministerially approve a parcel map for an “urban lot split” in an R1 zoned lot, to divide a lot into two separate lots, when the map meets certain requirements.
On January 12, 2022, the City Council adopted an urgency ordinance to implement SB 9 with objective standards and procedures consistent with State law. Since 2022, the State Senate passed SB 450, a legislative update to SB 9 which took effect on January 1, 2025. To be compliant with State law, the City must adopt a revised ordinance to ensure that the Westminster Municipal Code (WMC) contains objective standards that meet all current State requirements. In compliance with Section 17.620 of the Westminster Municipal Code, the Planning Commission initiated a code amendment on February 5, 2025 to amend sections of the code pertaining to SB 9 development to comply with State Law.
The Planning Commission, at its regular meeting of September 3, 2025 voted 3-0 (Commissioners Anderson and Wolbert absent) to recommend approval of the proposed zoning text amendment to the City Council. Planning Commission Resolution No. 25-017 and the minutes for that meeting are provided as Attachments 2 and 3 in this staff report.
Staff made several edits to the code text language, which was presented to the Planning Commission, to correct typographical errors and provide consistent numerical and statutory references. These changes, not previously shown to the Commission, are shown in red in the proposed ordinance (Attachment 1). The changes made do not materially affect the proposed ordinance.
Analysis
Key Modifications to SB 9:
SB 450 adopted several key changes to the SB 9 provisions found in state law. Two key changes include:
• A local agency may no longer impose objective standards that do not uniformly apply to development in the underlying zone. This means that the requirements may not be more restrictive than requirements applied to single-family development in the R1 zone and that they must be free of personal or subjective judgement. The City may apply more permissive standards; however, the City is currently not looking to adopt more permissive standards than the state requires.
• A local agency shall consider and approve or deny an application within 60 days from the day the agency receives a complete application.
Most of the changes proposed in the new ordinance were made to satisfy the state requirement that only objective standards applied to all development in the underlying zone may be required for SB 9 units. In addition, since the SB 9 ordinance was first introduced in 2021, the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has provided clarification that cities must allow new or existing JADUs and ADUs in conjunction with SB 9 units. Therefore, the proposed ordinance also reflects this requirement. Please see Attachment 4 for a copy of the City’s current SB 9 code sections. A copy of the proposed code text is included in the ordinance (Attachment 1). Due to the number of text and formatting changes, a full, red-lined copy of the proposed code text is not being provided.
The table below is a summary of key code modifications proposed in the permanent ordinance:
|
Key Modifications to SB 9 Ordinance |
|
Code Criteria |
Current Code |
Proposed Code |
|
Number of Units Allowed (No Lot Split) |
Two (2) units max No new ADUs/JADUs. This standard conflicts with state law and is not currently being enforced. |
Four (4) units max with no more than two (2) being primary units. JADUs/ADUs are allowed. |
|
Number of Units Allowed on Lots with Lot Split |
Two (2) units max per each lot. No new ADUs/JADUs. This standard conflicts with state law and is not currently being enforced. |
Two (2) units max per each lot, one of which must be a primary dwelling. JADUs and ADUs are allowed. |
|
Height |
16ft. max This standard conflicts with state law and is not currently being enforced. |
Subject to height requirements of the underlying R1 zone (currently 2 stories/35 feet max). |
|
Size |
800 sq. ft. max This standard conflicts with state law and is not currently being enforced. |
No specific maximum square footage. However, the lot coverage will govern the size. |
|
Lot Coverage |
40% max |
Same as underlying R1 zone (currently 40%). |
To comply with SB 450, the code will also be updated to state that an SB 9 application will be considered and approved or denied within 60 days from when the city receives a complete application. The City already has a process in place to ensure that a decision is made within 60 days for an SB 9 project.
Environmental Review
Per Government Code Sections 65852.21 and 66411.7, an ordinance adopted to implement SB 9 shall not be considered a project. Therefore, the zoning text amendment is not subject to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed amendment will not have a direct fiscal impact on the City.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
As required by State law, the proposed zoning text amendment brings the City’s existing SB 9 code provisions into compliance with the State’s SB 9 laws (Government Code Sections 65852.21 and 66411.7).
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Ordinance for Approval of the Zoning Text Amendment
2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 25-017
3. Draft Planning Commission Minutes for the Meeting of September 3, 2025
4. WMC Chapter 16.12 and WMC Section 17.400.122
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager