Westminster draft code details housing types, ADU density exemption and 30% affordable-housing bonus

Westminster’s draft Unified Development Code would do more than set broad goals for housing variety and sustainability. Planning Commission materials for a June 23 workshop and the public-review draft in an addendum lay out specific housing types, density rules and an affordable-housing bonus.

Staff told the commission the code is meant to steer more compact, pedestrian-oriented development to multimodal corridors and mixed-use opportunity areas on the city’s structure map, while conventional suburban patterns remain in designated suburban areas.

The draft says density generally would be measured as gross density unless another rule says otherwise, with fractional unit yields rounded down. Accessory dwelling units would not count toward a site’s maximum density, and residential uses measured by beds rather than housekeeping units could calculate density at two beds per dwelling unit.

The draft’s residential districts step up in intensity. R3, or Mixed Residential, would allow medium-density detached and attached homes, duplexes and townhomes. R4, or Mixed Medium Residential, would allow a higher-density mix from attached housing to walk-up multiunit buildings. R5, or Mixed High Residential, would allow higher-density attached and multiunit housing.

Some format-specific standards are also spelled out. Under the small-lot option, smaller lots could make up as much as 20% of a larger residential development or be used in infill and redevelopment. Cottage court projects generally would have to be at least one-half acre and no more than three acres unless extra open space is provided.

The draft also includes a direct affordability incentive: affordable housing “may receive a 30 percent density bonus,” with one example showing a four-acre site rising from 72 units to 93 units. The same section says the provision would require a companion Comprehensive Plan amendment, though the reviewed materials do not make clear whether a separate amendment draft already exists.

The code’s broader land-use language similarly ties denser housing to specific locations. The draft says mixed-use or commercial centers should serve as focal points for surrounding neighborhoods, with housing stepping down in intensity toward moderate- and low-density areas. It also says development of roughly five to 18 units per gross acre should help transition between lower-density neighborhoods and heavier commercial, light industrial or employment areas.

One public comment in the addendum objected to the sustainability language, saying it could add costs for homeowners and tenants and “drive up costs and rents” as those expenses are recovered. The June 23 workshop materials reviewed for this story do not include a direct staff response to that concern.

The June 23 Planning Commission item was an information-only workshop, not a vote. Staff told the commission they planned to continue reviewing comments, complete a legal review and later return with an adoption draft for the commission and City Council.