Workshops meant to receive feedback and community input for the Multi-Family Residential Objective Design Standards project
In an announcement on Sept. 2, Windsor town staff launched a three-part community workshop series for the Multi-Family Residential Design Standards project. The town is seeking feedback and community participation in these workshops.
The purpose of the virtual workshop is to present various methods of urban design relating to multi-family objective design standards that the town can implement to ensure compliance with state law. The key outcome of the virtual workshop is to gather community input that will guide future by-right approval for multi-family housing projects, and that will ultimately be incorporated in the Windsor Zoning Ordinance.
In other words, state law now requires approval of multi-family housing units, so the town is seeking to create design standards that all such projects must follow in the future.
“The town of Windsor is embarking on an effort to address the housing crisis in California by complying with new state laws aimed at expediting the approval of multi-family housing. This is achieved through the creation of objective design standards for the town. The community’s input will help the town define and refine what design qualities best represent Windsor,” said Community Development Director Jessica Jones.
The purpose of the workshops and project is to create objective standards related to multi-family residential building design. As a result of recent changes in state law, multi-family residential projects that meet certain requirements may not be reviewed or acted on by the planning commission or town council and may not require community input. These projects can proceed straight to building permits. Therefore, it is necessary to have objective design standards in place to ensure that these projects are designed to fit in with the character of Windsor, according to the town.
The community workshop series will be held virtually and will provide two online videos, a visual preference survey, and opportunities to provide input and ask questions of staff and the consultant team. The virtual workshop begins Tuesday, Sept. 1 and will be available on the website through mid-October, providing a month for the community to participate.
Following the virtual workshop, town staff will be working to schedule a joint meeting of the town council and planning commission to provide an overview of the project, provide the feedback received from the community, and to participate in a working session.
For more information on the Multi-Family Residential Design Standards project and to participate in the Community Workshop series, visit https://www.townofwindsor.com/1266/Multi-Family-Residential-Objective-Desig.
