Westminster, CA Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- WMC Ch. 17.570 (Ord. 2631, eff. 1/14/2026)
- State law adopted
- Gov. Code §§ 65915-65918
- Agreement
- recorded, City Attorney-approved
- Affordable unit placement
- spread through project, not clustered
- Clustering exception
- supportive housing or 100% affordable projects
- Applicant pays
- City's agreement drafting/verification costs
- Denial standard
- only on grounds allowed by state law
Summary
Westminster implements California's Density Bonus Law through its own Chapter 17.570, requiring any developer seeking a density bonus, incentive, or waiver to file that request with their housing application, sign a City Attorney-approved recorded affordable housing agreement, and spread the affordable units throughout the project rather than clustering them.
A. The applicant for a density bonus shall enter into an affordable housing agreement with the City in a form to be approved by the City Attorney. Said agreement shall be recorded against the property. ... B. The applicant shall be required to pay any costs incurred by the City in the drafting of the affordable housing agreement, verifying the eligibility of owners or tenants of the affordable units, or any other matter relating to the density bonus. ... F. Any affordable units shall be spread throughout the project, not aggregated in distinct clusters, unless the units are a part of a supportive housing project or the project is one hundred percent affordable units.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4982734; v10 updated 2026-06-10).
Full Breakdown
570, adopted by Ordinance 2631 effective January 14, 2026, expressly adopts the California Density Bonus Law found at Government Code §§ 65915 through 65918 and layers local application and agreement procedures on top of it. An applicant must file the density bonus request concurrently with the housing development application, and the submittal must disclose the property's base density, the total unit count, the number, percentage, and income level of affordable units, the number of density bonus units requested, every incentive or waiver requested with supporting documentation, and any reduced parking ratio sought under Government Code § 65915(p).
The review authority that acts on the housing project also acts on the density bonus request, and the ordinance states a bonus, incentive, or waiver 'may only be denied if the findings can be made as specified in the California Density Bonus Law,' meaning Westminster cannot impose extra local grounds for denial beyond what state law allows; if the underlying project is appealed, the appellate decision maker approves the density bonus request as well. Once approved, the applicant must enter into a recorded affordable housing agreement, drafted and approved by the City Attorney, and must reimburse the City for its costs in drafting the agreement and verifying tenant or owner eligibility.
The affordable units must be built concurrently with the market-rate units unless the developer and approving body agree to an alternate schedule in the agreement, must match the market-rate units' exterior design, and must be spread throughout the project rather than aggregated in distinct clusters, except for supportive housing or a 100%-affordable project. Affordable units must also receive the same amenities, parking, and common-area access as market-rate units, and any for-sale project's affordable units must likewise be for-sale unless the agreement provides for rental conversion if a unit does not sell within the specified window.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 17.570 does not set out its own penalty schedule; instead, compliance is enforced through the recorded affordable housing agreement that runs with the land, giving the City a contract-based remedy against an owner who breaches the affordability covenants. A project built or occupied without completing the required density bonus agreement, or otherwise failing to comply with the Zoning Code process in this chapter, is enforceable under Westminster's general penalty section, Westminster Code § 1.12.010, as a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or, at the city attorney's discretion, as an infraction carrying escalating fines of $100, $200, and $500 for repeat violations within a year, with each day of continuing violation treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Westminster have its own density bonus ordinance?
Can Westminster deny a density bonus request for its own local reasons?
Can a developer cluster all the affordable units in one corner of the project?
Who pays for the affordable housing agreement paperwork?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Westminster
California rules heatmap·Compare Westminster to another location·View the California zoning overlays & bonuses overview
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