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The Windsor Town Council voted 5-0 at its Sept. 10 meeting to approve an application for a conditional use permit allowing for the development of a two-unit multi-family building on a half-acre parcel of land on Bank Street about 400 feet east of the intersection of U.S. Route 258. Some of the provided design paperwork named the development The Bank Street Duplex.

The tally of votes cast on the matter did not total six because Councilman Edward “Gibbie” Dowdy was not present for the meeting.

The conditional use permit applicant was Hastings and Sons LLC, which owns the relevant property identified as Map Parcel 53-01-103. The property is zoned R1 – Residential.

The council’s vote followed a brief presentation by Cody Hastings sharing his plans for the parcel; a public hearing in which no one spoke; and a discussion led by council members in which various questions about The Bank Street Duplex were asked and answered.

Right before the council’s 5-0 vote, Councilman Walter Bernacki pointed to a part of the Planning & Zoning Report on the matter at hand that indicated the CUP application was somewhat inconsistent with the town’s adopted Comprehensive Plan.

In the Staff Conclusions section of the report, it stated, “While the Comprehensive Plan does indicate the continued need for housing of all types, the Comprehensive Plan also denotes this property and other properties west of Maple Lane as Low Density Residential. Because the Comprehensive Plan’s standards are wide ranging but explicit, it should be the principal guide to the Planning Commission’s discussions and actions concerning land use management and development, particularly zoning amendments. The commission, however, should also look beyond the plan and consider whether the application advances the best interests of public health, safety and general welfare.”

Bernacki asked what precedent may be set moving forward with the type of space in question if the council approved this conditional use permit request.

Councilman David Adams, who also sits on the commission, said, “Councilman Bernacki, I’ll say that at the Planning Commission meeting, that topic was talked about, and the consensus of the commission at the time was, given that there were other duplexes already existing in that area, everyone kind of said it fits with what’s there. I think if there wasn’t already precedent for it, there would have been some resistance, but we all kind of accepted that it fit with the character of that area.”

The planning and zoning report stated that included among the adjacent properties to the parcel in question is a multi-family apartment building across the street at 10198 E. Blackwater Road.

Bernacki was satisfied by Adams’ answer, and the motion, second and vote promptly followed.

Windsor Planning and Zoning Administrator James “Jay” Randolph stated in a memo to the mayor and Town Council that the Windsor Planning Commission held a public hearing at its meeting in June to consider this CUP application. Hastings was the only speaker at the hearing.

“The Windsor Planning Commission reviewed the potential impacts of this application and how they may affect the adjoining properties with regards to projected traffic, whether the proposed use would be consistent and compatible with the existing uses nearby, and the proposed use on the health, safety and general well-being of the community,” Randolph wrote.

He noted that the commission adopted a motion to recommend approval of the application with the following conditions: 

• Substantial conformity to the site plan and corresponding renderings/elevations submitted 

with the application; and 

• Prior to the issuance of certificates of occupancy or in reasonable time and manner associated with the conclusion of construction, subdivision of the parcel into two lots, each with a minimum state road frontage of 50 feet.