Westminster City Councilor Obi Ezeadi Leads Unanimous Passage of Childcare Amendment in City’s Comprehensive Plan

Amendment marks first city-level action to treat childcare as infrastructure.

October 15, 2025, Westminster, Colorado – On Monday, October 13, 2025, the Westminster City Council voted unanimously, 7-0, to adopt a landmark amendment to the City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan that designates childcare as a supportive commercial use in employment and office areas, essentially expanding childcare access to nearly all zoning types except industrial zones where health and safety hazards make it inappropriate. The amendment is a result of three years of advocacy by Councilor Obi Ezeadi, whose first success in addressing Westminster’s childcare affordability crisis came earlier in 2025 when Westminster adopted an update to the City’s Strategic Plan that elevated childcare as a formal priority. 

Monday’s successful amendment of the Comprehensive Plan positions Westminster as one of the first municipalities in Colorado to formally recognize childcare as infrastructure. “Localized policy action can create expedited forces for childcare development in ways the federal government cannot,” said Ezeadi.

Ezeadi emphasized the urgency of addressing childcare barriers in the face of shifting demographics and workforce needs. “Colorado’s economy is heavily dependent on industries requiring full-time, in-person work,” Ezeadi said. “With half a million retirees leaving the workforce soon, we are staring at a childcare gap that will weaken our economy if we do nothing. With CCAP requirements and no federal funding, our working families could be left without access to childcare for the next four to five years. That is unacceptable.”

The initiative is cost-neutral and within the City’s authority, making it a model for local action. Ezeadi noted that this amendment is only the beginning of a broader vision.

Westminster city staff are compiling more potential solutions as part of a broader package focused on access, quality, and cost of childcare. “This is just part one of many more steps we’ll take as a city that are both fiscally responsible and revolutionary for a municipality to take on,” Ezeadi said.

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