Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing - First Reading of Case No. 2025-0227, A Request to Repeal and Readopt Chapter 17.640 Appeals of the Westminster Municipal Code to Provide for a Call for Review Procedure for the City Council and Planning Commission and Making Other Minor Amendments
End
publichearing
• Staff Report
• Mayor and City Council Questions for Staff
• Public Comments
• Mayor and Council Member Discussion
• Council Action
End
From: Steven Mendoza, Interim Community Development Director
Requested by: Administration
Prepared by: Ken Fichtelman, Principal 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, REPEALING AND READOPTING CHAPTER 17.640 OF THE WESTMINSTER MUNICIPAL CODE (APPEALS) TO PROVIDE FOR A CALL FOR REVIEW PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION AND MAKING OTHER MINOR AMENDMENTS,” read by title only and waive further reading.
end
BACKGROUND
Chapter 17.640 of the Westminster Municipal Code (WMC) provides the procedures for the appeal or review of decisions which have been rendered by the Director of Community Development or the Planning Commission (Attachment 2). Recent appeals filed with the City have led to a review of the appeals process and illustrated the need to add a Call for Review section as well as make additional changes to provide clarity around the process and procedures for appeals.
On November 5, 2025, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend approval of this zoning text amendment to the City Council through the adoption of Resolution 25-021.
ANALYSIS
The City’s current procedures for review by either the Planning Commission or City Council require that a Planning Commissioner or Council Member complete the appeal procedure as outlined in Chapter 17.640, which includes stating the basis for the appeal, the specific aspect of the decision being appealed and supporting evidence substantiating the basis for the appeal. This creates a bias, as the reason for the appeal must be stated and evidence supplied. As Planning Commissioners and Council Members are intended to enter a public hearing without bias towards a project and rely on the evidence and testimony provided to make their decision, the current appeals process introduces the appearance of bias and could lead to a situation where a Planning Commissioner or Council Member would have to recuse themselves from voting on the appeal that they requested.
To eliminate this introduction of bias, a Call for Review section is being added to Chapter 17.640. The Call for Review will allow for either a Council Member or Planning Commissioner to initiate a review of a decision without providing a reason for the review. This eliminates the introduction of bias from the process and ensures that a Planning Commissioner or Council Member does not have to recuse themselves from a public hearing due to the procedure for an appeal.
Additionally, the entire Chapter was reviewed to ensure that all provisions within the chapter met any applicable state laws and that the procedures set forth were clear for any potential appellant. Additional amendments have been made to the chapter to accomplish this goal.
A draft version of the City Council ordinance showing all proposed text changes has been provided as Attachment 1. As the ordinance is being repealed and readopted in its entirety, a red lined copied has not been provided.
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
The proposed text amendment will update the City’s procedures for appeal and add a Call for Review to ensure that Planning Commissioners and Council Members can call items for review without bias and provide clarity around the procedures for appeals. The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve Case No. 2025-0227 through the adoption of the proposed Ordinance.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft Ordinance
2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 25-021
3. Draft Planning Commission Minutes for the Meeting of November 5, 2025
4. WMC Chapter 17.640 Appeals
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
City Attorney’s Office
Christine Cordon, City Manager