Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Strategic Plan Goal #2 - Implement and Support Effective Land Use Policies that Encourage Quality Development.
Strategic Plan Objective: Provide a status on the City’s ongoing Zoning Phase 2 Study, including an overview of the project schedule and cost.
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From: Christine Cordon, City Manager
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Steven Mendoza, Interim Community Development Director; Ken Fichtelman, Principal Planner
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
Recommendation
Receive and file.
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BACKGROUND
On April 28, 2025, the City Council held a strategic planning workshop to develop the City’s second three-year strategic plan and identify priorities for the City. These include:
• Goal #1 - Achieve Financial Stability
• Goal #2 - Implement and Support Effective Land-Use Policies that Encourage Quality Development
• Goal #3 - Attract, Develop, and Retain Well-Qualified Staff Members
• Goal #4 - Improve Customer Service to the Community
• Goal #5 - Enhance Quality of Life and Beautification Throughout the City
The new goals stem from the first set of goals adopted in 2022, which included:
• Goal #1 - Achieve Financial Stability
• Goal #2 - Develop and Implement Specific Plans for Little Saigon, the Downton District, and the Westside
• Goal #3 - Attract, Develop, and Retain Well-Qualified Staff Members
• Goal #4 - Improve Customer Service Delivery to the Community
The April 28, 2025 strategic planning workshop was an opportunity for the City Council to discuss the previous three-year strategic plan goals and objectives, reflect on lessons learned, and consider new priorities, concerns, and needs in establishing a new set of goals and objectives. The new three-year strategic plan includes previous goals that are being continued due to ongoing implementation of objectives, as well as new opportunities that have presented themselves since the previous planning period.
A follow-up strategic planning workshop was held on October 6, 2025 to evaluate the City’s progress in achieving goals through the strategic plan.
One of the objectives under Strategic Plan Goal #2 - Implement and Support Effective Land-Use Policies that Encourage Quality Development is to provide a status update on the City’s ongoing Zoning Phase 2 Study, including an overview of the project schedule and cost.
The Zoning Phase 2 update is being prepared by De Novo Planning Group under an agreement approved by the City Council on December 10, 2019. The update will:
• Comprehensively update the Zoning Ordinance (Title 17 of the Westminster Municipal Code), making it easier for staff and the public to use.
• Address inconsistencies with state law.
• Modify development standards to enhance the appearance of new construction.
• Streamline review procedures for ministerial permits.
Anticipated Schedule:
• Planning Commission public hearing and recommendation to the City Council: Fourth quarter of 2026
• City Council public hearing and decision: Fourth quarter of 2026
• New zoning standards effective: January/February of 2027
Currently, De Novo is reorganizing the code to ensure that relevant topics can be found in the same code section. For example, anyone looking to develop a new single-family residence would currently have to look through no fewer than four different chapters of the municipal code to find all the information necessary to design a new residence. This task is made even more difficult as some of the information is buried in Chapters that are not easily recognizable as containing information on single-family development. After the reorganization, all the required information will be either found in a single chapter or, in the case of parking, be conspicuously referred to within the chapter. This effort will ensure that residents and developers can easily find and access all information required to develop a given property. Staff has also made the decision to move the use tables out of the individual zoning chapters and into a single table. This will provide prospective business owners and developers with a single site to determine where a specific use is permitted. Currently, anyone looking for this information must visit five separate tables to find the needed information.
De Novo has also been providing amended code sections to the City for review. Staff reviews these sections and makes edits or changes as needed to ensure that the needs of the City are being met and that the code update is progressing.
As part of the Phase 2 update, staff has decided to break out the update to the Sign Ordinance as a separate work effort; the sign ordinance requires a more focused approach, given the internal inconsistencies, specific legal issues that arise with signs, and other issues that have been identified. City Advisors was selected in early May 2025 to handle this update, following distribution of requests for proposals to the six consultants on Community Development Department’s on-call list. City Advisors anticipated a maximum project budget of $53,000. Currently, City Advisors has initiated work on the sign code update.
Anticipated Schedule:
• Planning Commission public hearing and recommendation to the City Council: Fourth quarter of 2026
• City Council public hearing and decision: Fourth quarter of 2026
• New sign standards effective: January/February 2027
As the work on the Zoning Phase 2 Update has progressed, staff has continued to work on other zoning code amendments, including those which have been required due to changes in state law. In the last year, staff has processed comprehensive changes to both the City’s ADU and SB9 code sections, replaced the City’s Density Bonus law code section, and modified the uses permitted in the City’s Industrial Zones.
FISCAL IMPACT
Adequate funds have been included in the Department’s budget in Account Nos. 11501-43090 and 61050-43090 to fund the zoning text amendments described in Strategic Plan Goal No. 2.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed as to form.
CONCLUSION
Strategic Plan Goal #2 - Implement and Support Effective Land-Use Policies that Encourage Quality Development with an objective to “Provide a status on the City’s ongoing Zoning Phase 2 Study, including an overview of the project schedule and cost.” This report provides the City Council with an update on the Zoning Phase 2 update and the expected timelines for completion of the project.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Strategic Plan Update Goal #2, June 6, 2025
2. Strategic Plan Update Goal #2, March 22, 2023
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager