As required by State law, the City of Westminster has a General Plan that serves as a “Constitution” for development, a foundation upon which all land use decisions are based. City Council, Planning Commission, and staff use the goals and policies of the General Plan as a basis on which to make their land use decisions.

The current version of the General Plan was adopted by the City Council on September 28, 2016, it takes a fresh look at where Westminster is today and where it is going. The City's first General Plan was adopted in 1965 and has been updated two times prior (1985 and 1996) to the 2016 General Plan.

The 2016 General Plan is the product of more than two years of work involving meetings with the community, General Plan Advisory Committee, City Staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council. The plan includes chapters, often referred to as Elements, that address land use, economic development, community design, mobility, parks and recreation, infrastructure and natural resources, and public health and safety. A separate part of the General Plan addresses housing; that portion of the General Plan was adopted in 2014 to meet state requirements. To view the General Plan please click on the links below.

An Implementation Plan was developed concurrently with the 2016 General Plan and was adopted by the City Council as a stand alone document. The Implementation Plan is intended to be used as a working tool by each City department; it serves as a checklist of priorities to be accomplished and establishes time frames within which the action should be achieved. The implementation actions serve to prioritize activities the City should initiate or maintain on an ongoing basis to ensure the vision of the General Plan is achieved.

On September 28, 2016, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 4808 certifying the Environmental Impact Report for the 2016 General Plan.