Editor:
On Tuesday, Feb. 26, Windsor’s Planning Commission will have made a decision on the Mill Creek 360-unit apartment project previously known as the Windsor Mill Development. The project as presented to the Planning Commission calls for the development of the 20.8-acre site at a density of 17.8 units per acre.
The site consists for three distinct parcels, each with a different and distinct General Plan, Station Area Plan and Zoning Code designation. The larger parcel designated and zoned High Density / Compact Residential could accommodate 12 to 32 units per acre. A second parcel designated Medium Density Residential could accommodate 8-16 units per acre and finally a third parcel designated Village Residential could accommodate 5 to 8 units per acre.
The planning director and the town’s hired consultant have deemed the project consistent with the General and Station Area Plans and our Zoning Ordinance. They state that the project’s density of 17.8 dwelling units per acre is the average density spread across the entire project and as such meets the zoning requirements.
I have previously stated in writing that this finding is unsupportable. The Mill Creek project is a 360-unit apartment complex. Our General Plan calls for something different on this 20.8-acre site. Windsor’s Zoning Code, which implements both the General and Station Area Plans, provides description of the land-use types on pages 2-8.
“VR (Village Residential)… is intended for areas appropriate for a mixture of housing types on smaller lots. The allowable density ranges from five to eight dwelling units per acre…. The VR zoning is consistent with the Low Density Residential land use classification of the General Plan.”
In my opinion the Mill Creek project fails to provide anything that fits the above zoning description.
“MDR (Medium Density Residential) …is intended for areas appropriate for multi-family housing, and is suitable near activity centers and along major thoroughfares. This zoning allows for a variety of residential opportunities including small single-family units, row houses, townhomes and small apartments. The allowable density ranges from eight to sixteen dwelling units per acre.”
The Mill Creek project is a large apartment complex. It does not meet the descriptions provided in the zoning Ordinance for Village Residential or even Medium Density Residential. Whether it is an appropriate development for this site needs to be determined through the town’s adopted process.
In past situations where the developer’s desired project didn’t meet the zoning requirements, a General Plan amendment changed the zoning to Planned Unit Development (PUD) with a development agreement. This is the appropriate and legal means for this project to move forward as it would allow consideration of the goals and vision found in our planning documents, the creation of which many of us participated in.
I have been asked repeatedly; where are our children going to live once they reach adulthood? The best answer I can come up with is it will take a variety of housing types to accommodate the various needs of those who call Windsor home and wish to stay in and contribute to our community. This project when considered with the very similar Bell Village, 360-unit apartment complex by the same developer, doesn’t appear to me to be for the critical “missing middle,” an opportunity of home ownership or for many of the goals established through our planning process.
Sam Salmon, Town Councilmember
Windsor
