4.01 Staff Report
8200 Westminster
City of Westminster
Boulevard
Westminster,
California 92683
Staff Report
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
Westminster City Council
SUBJECT
..Title
Case No. 2019-201 Public Hearing to Consider a General Plan Amendment, a
Specific Plan, and an Environmental Impact Report for the Westminster Mall Specific
Plan.
..End
..publichearing
Staff Report
Mayor and City Council Questions for Staff
Public Comments
Mayor and Council Member Discussion
Council Action
..End
From: Debra Kurita, Interim Community Development Director
Prepared by: Christopher Wong, Senior Planner
____________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
..Recommendation
The Planning Commission recommends that the Mayor and City Council:
A. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA CERTIFYING THE
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (STATE CLEARING HOUSE
#2019100444) ASSOCIATED WITH CASE NO. 2019-201 PREPARED FOR
THE WESTMINSTER MALL SPECIFIC PLAN; ADOPTING FINDINGS OF FACT
PURSUANT TO PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE SECTION 21081(A), ADOPTING
A MITIGATION MONITORING PLAN, AND ADOPTING A STATEMENT OF
OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS;
B. Adopt a Resolution entitledHE MAYOR AND CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER APPROVING AN AMENDMENT
TO THE GENERAL PLAN REGARDING THE WESTMINSTER MALL SPECIFIC
PLAN (MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT)
City of Westminster Page 1 of 13
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
C. AN ORDINANCE OF THE
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WESTMINSTER,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT THE WESTMINSTER
MALL SPECIFIC PLAN (MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL
DEVELOPMENT),
Planning Commission and staff recommended edits to the Westminster Mall
Specific Plan.
..end
BACKGROUND
In 2016, the City updated its General Plan which designated six areas in the City for
future mixed-use development. In accordance with the General Plan, a Specific Plan
must be adopted for each of these mixed-use areas. The first mixed-use area selected
for the development of a Specific Plan is the Westminster Mall area. There is
tremendous opportunity to redesign and reposition the Mall into a thriving activity center
that will once again attract visitors from the greater region. A Specific Plan will establish
the opportunity needed to revive the Mall site.
WHAT IS A SPECIFIC PLAN?
A Specific Plan is a comprehensive planning document that establishes standards and
guidelines for land use and development within a specific geographic area. A Specific
Plan must be consistent with the adopted General Plan. Additionally, a Specific Plan is
required to include the following information: proposed land uses, infrastructure, land
use and development standards, implementation measures, relationship to the General
Plan, design standards, and design guidelines. Once a Specific Plan is adopted by the
City Council, all subsequent subdivision, development, public works projects, and
zoning regulations proposed within the Specific Plan area must be consistent with the
Specific Plan.
WESTMINSTER MALL LOCATION AND SURROUNDING LAND USES
The Westminster Mall site is located on the northeast corner of Bolsa Avenue and
Edwards Street. The mall site borders the Interstate 405 (I-405) Freeway and the City of
Huntington Beach. Further, the Westminster Mall site is approximately 100-acres in size
and includes several existing structures. The existing non-residential floor area that
comprises the mall totals approximately 1,360,000 square feet. See Figure 1 for a visual
representation of the mall site, the existing land uses that comprise the mall site, and
the existing land uses that surround the mall site.
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
Figure 1. Westminster Mall Site and Surrounding Land Uses
LEGEND
WESTMINSTER MALL SITE
# LAND USE DESCRIPTION CITY
Retail (Best Buy) Westminster
Vacant Westminster
Westminster
Main mall building (with anchor te
Westminster
Target)
Bank (US Bank) Westminster
Restaurant (Outback Steakhouse) Westminster
Temporary medical office (COVID clinic) Westminster
Bank (Chase Bank) Westminster
SURROUNDING LAND USES
# LAND USE DESCRIPTION CITY
A Self-storage facility (US Storage) Westminster
B Navy rail easement Westminster
C Single-family residences Westminster
D Commercial shopping center Westminster
E Vacant Westminster
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
F Huntington
Commercial shopping center
Beach
G Huntington
Single-family residences
Beach
EXISTING GENERAL PLAN LAND USE DESIGNATION
-Use Westminster Mall (up
designation, the long-term vision for the Westminster Mall calls for mixing traditional
retail uses with new housing, public spaces, and entertainment uses to create an
experience-
sales-tax-generating centers. In addition, the parcels on the northwest corner of
EXISTING PARCEL CONFIGURATION AND PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
The Westminster Mall site is owned by four different property owners. See Figure 2
below for an ownership map. Additionally, two of the parcels include very long-term
ground leases for Mall anchors. Coordination among the property owners will be
necessary to redevelop the site in a cohesive manner. The City has been working
diligently to engage the owners as part of the Specific Plan process.
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
Figure 2. Current Westminster Mall Property Owners
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The City initiated the Specific Plan process in 2018. Throughout the process, public
outreach has been an important component to the development of the Specific Plan.
The City conducted an online survey, established pop-up booths at City events, and
held community meetings.
Online Survey: In August 2018, the City launched an online community survey that
requested feedback on the types of desired activities, amenities, and mobility for the
Westminster Mall site. Approximately 2,000 people submitted a response.
Community Meetings: Five community meetings were held and a series of topics
were discussed, including the following: (1) a general overview of the future
redevelopment of the Westminster Mall; (2) traffic and mobility concerns; (3) design
considerations; and (4) integration of community ideas and feedback into a revised
concept. Combined, the meetings had an attendance of approximately 700 people.
In addition, the last two meetings were broadcast live via Facebook Live.
Pop-Up Booths: The City established pop-up booths at various City events. City staff
were available at these booths to gather feedback and answer questions about the
Westminster Mall Specific Plan.
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
WESTMINSTER MALL SPECIFIC PLAN
The feedback and comments gathered from stakeholders through the outreach process
helped establish a list of objectives that were used to guide the development of the
Westminster Mall Specific Plan (Attachment 13). The objectives, and an explanation of
how the WMSP fulfilled each objective, are discussed below.
1. Establish a Gateway to Westminster
The WMSP establishes standards and guidelines for architectural design, site
design, landscape, and signage that will establish quality development that
delineates the primary gateways to the site.
2. Establish a Priority Location for New Growth and a Greater Mix of Uses
The WMSP will create an opportunity for property owners of the Westminster Mall
site to develop up to 3,000 residential dwelling units, 1,200,000 square feet of
non-residential building area, and 425 hotel rooms. Currently, only commercial land
uses are permitted on site. Therefore, the WMSP allows for a greater mix of uses
that respond to changing market conditions, bolster the local economy, and
accommodate future growth in the City.
3. Establish Balanced Planning
The WMSP includes development standards and guidelines that were carefully
crafted in consideration of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Development
standards and guidelines address traffic and existing roadway capacity, internal
circulation, parking, building height, land use placement, site design, street edge
design, open space, and other features.
4. Encourage Retail, Office and Hotel Development
As mentioned above, a retail preservation policy was included in the WMSP that
ensures a minimum of 600,000 square feet of retail is preserved on site, which
encompasses the development and/or preservation of retail, restaurants, and hotels
on site. This retail preservation policy will help preserve sales tax in the City.
5. Establish Housing Diversity and Affordability
The WMSP includes affordable housing requirements that ensures every housing
development includes residential units designated for income restricted tenants. A
minimum 10-percent of all housing units built within the WMSP area must be income
restricted. Projects with 30 residential units or less may pay an in-lieu fee.
6. Establish Access to Open Space
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
The WMSP requires a minimum of 17 acres of open space be provided in the
Specific Plan area. Internal pedestrian connectivity is also required to facilitate
access to each publicly accessible open space area. Furthermore, the Westminster
Nature Activity Trail is a required improvement of the WMSP.
7. Balance New Development with Existing Roadway Capacity
The WMSP includes a mobility system that carefully considers several key concepts
described below:
Any vehicular traffic generated from future development at the WMSP Area must
be able to be accommodated within the existing street rights-of-way and roadway
capacity on Bolsa Avenue and Edwards Street. These roadways will not be
widened with additional vehicular lanes to accommodate future development.
Refinements to pedestrian improvements or bike lanes are acceptable.
A connected internal circulation system that provides accessibility to and within
the site without exiting onto the regional roadway network.
Minimize traffic intrusion into adjacent neighborhoods through the effective
design and placement of vehicular access points and use of traffic calming
devices such as traffic diverters to prohibit through movements into the
neighborhoods.
Creation of an internal Main Street or Downtown area.
Connectivity to future bicycle networks in the area, including the Westminster
Nature Activity Trail and other key corridors in the City.
Element.
8. Establish Bike and Pedestrian Connectivity
The WMSP applies a complete streets approach to the site by providing mobility for
all travel modes that serves users of all ages and abilities. The WMSP mobility plan
incorporates all aspects of the public realm, which is comprised of a vehicular zone,
a pedestrian zone, and a frontage zone. In addition, the Specific Plan provides
guidance regarding the integration and development of improvements for both public
and privately-owned transportation networks within the area.
9. Encourage Quality Building Form and Architectural Design
A common thread woven through the objectives listed above is the desire to create a
standards were developed in the WMSP that ensure quality design.
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City of Westminster
File #:22-429,Item #:4.1Meeting Date:November 30, 2022
10.Enhance and Protect Views
In the WMSP, building height was carefully considered around the perimeter of the
site. Maximum building height progressively increases as buildings move further
away from Edwards Street and Bolsa Avenue, and away from the surrounding
single-family residential neighborhoods.
REQUIRED PROJECT ACTIONS AND ENTITLEMENTS
The following actions and entitlements are required for the proposed project.
1.General Plan Amendment (GPA)
To accommodate the proposed Westminster Mall Specific Plan, an amendment is
required to the Westminster General Plan to (1) increase the number of allowable
dwelling units from 824 (assumed in the General Plan) to a range of 2,000 to 3,000
dwelling units, (2) increase the maximum number of residents from 2,676 to 8,373,
(3)increase the amount of non-residential area from 1,396,070 square feet to
1,433,750 square feet (1,200,000 square feet of non-residential area and 233,750
square feet of hotel area), (4) decrease the number of jobs from 3,490 to 2,990; and
(5)amend the General Plan land use map for the parcel on the northwest corner of
-Use
2.Specific Plan (SP)
In accordance with the General Plan, the development of a Specific Plan for the
Westminster Mall is required to guide future development.Therefore, a Specific Plan
was developed in accordance with Chapter 17.565 (Specific Plans) of Article 5 (Land
Use and Development Procedures) of Title 17 (Land Use) of the Westminster
Municipal Code.
3.Environmental ImpactReport (EIR)
An Environmental Impact Report was prepared for the project as discussed in
greater detail in the next section.
The City Council is the final review authority for General Plan Amendments and Specific
Plans at a duly advertised public hearing.
PUBLIC HEARING NOTIFICATION
On November 17, 2022, the following actions were taken to notify the community of the
City Council public hearing:
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City of Westminster
File #:22-429,Item #:4.1Meeting Date:November 30, 2022
1.The Westminster Community Development Department published a public hearing
notice in the Westminster Herald-Journal, which included a description of the
proposed Westminster Mall Specific Plan, the Westminster Mall location, and the
date, place, and time of the scheduled City Council hearing;
2.The Westminster Community Development Department posted a public notice
outside the City Council Chambers, City Hall building, Community Services building,
and Westminster Branch Library;
3.The Westminster Community Development Department posted a public notice on
the City website;
4.The Westminster Community Development Department posted a public notice at
each main entrance to the mall concourse and freestanding buildings around the
mall site;
5.Susan W. Case, Inc., on behalf of the Westminster Community Development
Department, mailed the same public hearing notice described above to all property
owners ofrecord and occupants within a 500-foot radius from the boundaries of the
Westminster Mall site, and owners and occupants of the Westminster Mall site; and
6.The Westminster Community Development Department sent e-mail notification to all
persons included on the Westminster Mall Specific Plan interest list, which included
a link to the public notice posted on the City website.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), an Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the project by Placeworks (Attachment 14). A
Notice of Preparation (NOP) of the Draft EIR was distributed and sent to responsible
and trustee agencies on October24,2019. On November 18, 2019, a public scoping
meeting was conducted within the30-day public review period, which concluded on
November25,2019, to discuss the content that would be considered in the EIR. The
City received 17 comments in response to the NOP.
On August 18, 2022, a Notice of Availability (NOA) / Intent (NOI) to adopt a Draft
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) with a description of the proposed project was
published in the Westminster Herald-Journal, mailed to public agencies and interested
parties, and e-mailed to all persons included on the Westminster Mall Specific Plan
interest list. The Draft EIR was released for public review and comments on August 15,
2022. The public comment period ended on October 6, 2022, which satisfied the
minimum 45-day review period. All comment letters received before the close of the
public review period were responded to in writing. The comment letters with the
responses to those comments are included in the Final EIR (Attachment 14).
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City of Westminster
File #:22-429,Item #:4.1Meeting Date:November 30, 2022
The Draft EIR identifies that the proposed General Plan Amendment and Westminster
Mall Specific Plan would result in no impact or less than significant impacts in the
following environmental impact categories: Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forest
Resources, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Energy, Geology and Soils,
Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and
Planning, Mineral Resources, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation,
Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, Wildfire.
The Draft EIR also identifies significant and unavoidable adverse project-related
impacts, as defined by CEQA. Unavoidable adverse impacts may be considered
significant on a project-specific or cumulatively significant basis. Potentially significant
impacts include those that fall within the responsibility or jurisdiction of another agency
and when implementation of the mitigation measures cannot feasibly be assured by the
City. If the City, as the lead agency, determines that significant and unavoidable
adverse impacts will result from the project, the City must prepare a Statement of
Overriding Considerations (SOC) before it can approve the project. A SOC shows that
the decision-making body has balanced the benefits of the proposed project against its
unavoidable significant adverse environmental effects and has determined that the
benefits of the project outweigh the adverse effects and, therefore, the effects are
considered acceptable. The Draft EIR identifies significant and unavoidable adverse
project-related impacts in the following environmental impact categories:Air Quality,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Noise, and Transportation. Staff is recommending the
Planning Commission recommend that the Mayor and City Council adopt a SOC by
Resolution concurrently with the certification of the EIR for the proposed project. The
proposed CEQA Resolution (Attachment 1) for the Specific Plan includes findings of fact
to support the project pursuant to the provisions of CEQA.
A Mitigation Monitoring Program (MMRP) has been developed to comply with the
requirements of state law (Public Resources Code Section 21081.6). The monitoring
program is intended to ensure compliance during implementation of the project. An
MMRP would be adopted by resolution concurrently with certification of the EIR for the
proposed project.
PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING
On November 2, 2022, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and considered
the Westminster Mall Specific Plan, staff report (Attachment 5) as well as public
comments received before and during the public hearing. All comments received before
the hearing were compiled in a comprehensive matrix (Attachment 6). City staff
reviewed each comment and provided a response and/or recommended action(s) in the
matrix for Planning Commission consideration. Furthermore, a total of 17 persons spoke
during the Planning Commission public hearing. Comments involved residential density,
traffic, parking, retail preservation, permitted land uses, building height, open space,
project phasing, and design. For details of the public hearing comments, refer to the
draft Planning Commission meeting minutes (Attachment 7).
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City of Westminster
File #:22-429,Item #:4.1Meeting Date:November 30, 2022
Following deliberation, the Planning Commission unanimously voted (4-0, with
Commissioner Quynh Nguyen absent) to recommend that the City Council approve the
Westminster Mall Specific Plan with certain modifications to the Specific Plan, which are
compiled in a table (Attachment 4). For details of the final Commission determination,
refer to the final Planning Commission resolutions (Attachments 8, 9, and 10).
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED
The City received several new written comments pertaining to the draft Westminster
Mall Specific Plan following publication of the Planning Commission staff report. Each
tal
consultant and City staff. A response was provided for each comment in a memo from
the environmental consultant (Attachment 11), and in a second comprehensive matrix
from City staff (Attachment 12). Each response in the matrix includes staff
recommended action(s) for consideration by the City Council. The recommended
actions that specifically result in modifications to the Westminster Mall Specific Plan are
compiled in a separate table (Attachment 4).
The most notable of the staff recommended actions developed in response to the new
written comments pertain to open space requirements, retail preservation policy, and
development phasing, which are summarized below.
1.Open Space Requirements
Previously, WMSP Figure 3.9: Open SpaceandFigure 5.15: Open Space Location
and Sizingidentified the conceptual location of the required three-acre urban park
plaza and two-and-one-half-acre neighborhood park. Staff recommends text and
graphic modifications to applicable sections of the WMSP in order to clearly identify
the required location of these two parks. The owners of the property upon which
these two parks are to be located will be responsible for their development. The
owners may change the location of the parks; however, any location change must be
reviewed and approved by the City. This adjustment in the WMSP will result in
greater certainty of the location and development of the parks.
Furthermore, staff recommends text modifications in the WSMP that clarify that the
total required amount of open space on site is 17 acres, in accordance with figures
inTable 5.5: Open Space Requirements. Of the 17 total acres, 9.5 acres will be
provided through the combination of the Urban Park Plaza, Mixed-use Neighborhood
Park, and additional public open space areas. The additional 7.5 acres of open
space will consist of privately owned, but publicly accessible passive park and open
space areas which will be incorporated into the WMSP area as development
review process.
This modification will address any confusion and ensure consistency with the
General Plan and Parks Master Plan.
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City of Westminster
File #:22-429,Item #:4.1Meeting Date:November 30, 2022
2.0 Retail Preservation Policy
The Planning Commission directed staff to work with the property owners to modify
the Retail Overlay in Figure 3.12 as needed. Following discussions with the owners,
staff recommends modifying the Retail Overlay figure to reduce the northerly portion
of the figure and incorporate more land area to the east, as seen in Figure 3. The
modification would assign the obligation to develop retail more equitability amongst
the major property owners.
Figure3. Current and Recommended Retail Overlay
Current Retail OverlayRecommended Retail Overlay
3.Development Phasing
Staff recommends that Table 9.5 WMSP Phasing Requirementsin the WMSP be
modified as follows:
Increase the number of residential units allowed in Phase 1 from 200 units to 950
units;
Increase the amount of park and open space required in Phase 1 from three
acres to five-and-one-half acres; and
Clearly state that a project may not be denied or delayed if a proportionally
assigned share of the required 600,000 square feet of retail space is provided by
the property owner on site.
These recommended modifications allow each owner to develop property
independent of one another.
The City Council should consider the public comments, the recommended action(s)
from the Planning Commission and staff in response to each comment, and
determine which modifications, if any, should be made to the Specific Plan. Any
modifications to the WMSP must be included in thefinal motion from the Council.
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City of Westminster
File #: 22-429, Item #: 4.1 Meeting Date: November 30, 2022
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no fiscal impacts associated with these actions.
LEGAL REVIEW
viewed and approve the report and attachments as to
form.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Planning Commission reviewed the proposed Westminster Mall
Specific Plan at a duly advertised public hearing and recommends approval of a
General Plan Amendment, approval of the Westminster Mall Specific Plan with certain
modifications, and certification of an Environmental Impact Report.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Draft City Council Environmental Impact Report Resolution
2. Draft City Council General Plan Amendment Resolution
3. Draft City Council Specific Plan Ordinance
4. Compilation of Recommended Changes to the Westminster Mall Specific Plan
5. Planning Commission Staff Report Dated November 2, 2022 (Without Attachments
5, 6, and 7)
6. Public Comments Matrix with City Staff Responses to Written Comments Received
Before the Planning Commission Agenda was Posted
7. Draft Planning Commission Minutes from November 2, 2022
8. Final Planning Commission Environmental Impact Report Resolution No. 22-006
9. Final Planning Commission General Plan Amendment Resolution No. 22-007
10. Final Planning Commission Westminster Mall Specific Plan Resolution No. 22-008
11. Environmental Consultant Responses to Written Comments Received After the
Planning Commission Agenda was Posted
12. Public Comments Matrix with City Staff Responses to Written Comments Received
After the Planning Commission Agenda was Posted
13. Draft Westminster Mall Specific Plan
REVIEWED BY
Erin Backs, Finance Director
Christian Bettenhausen, City Attorney
Christine Cordon, City Manager
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City of Westminster