Project Proposes Hundreds Of Apartments In Sonoma County

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — As many as 384 apartments could fill a four-story housing project on the site of a former elementary school according to a proposal that will discussed at an upcoming public meeting.

The proposal calls for seven four-story buildings reaching 46 feet across 12 acres on the former site of Windsor Creek Elementary School.

The plan includes up to 384 apartment flats in seven buildings at 8955 Conde Lane.

The Town of Windsor received the application July 13.

The project would include one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. Twenty percent of the units would serve very-low-income households. The remaining units would offer a mix of affordability levels, including market-rate housing.

The proposal also includes a 4,553-square-foot recreation center, a 623-square-foot maintenance building, 537 to 567 parking spaces, and the retained and reused gym building.

Drivers would enter the site from Armando Renzullo Way. Emergency vehicles would enter and leave through Oakfield Drive.

The project seeks a 50% density bonus under State Density Bonus Law, four waivers from development standards, State Density Bonus Law parking standards, and the right to use as many as three incentives or concessions.

The proposal requests waivers from maximum building-length requirements, parking setbacks from street-facing property lines, building-entrance orientation requirements, and porch square-footage and depth standards.

The project needs Windsor to change the property’s land-use and zoning designations to allow high-density housing, combine two parcels into one, and approve the design

The town will review the full application before deciding whether to approve the project.

Housing costs in Windsor have increased dramatically in the past two decades.

The median value of an owner-occupied home soared from about $219,000 in 2010 to more than $763,000 today—an increase of nearly 250 percent.

The increase has outstripped increases to income for many households. Advocates argue that more housing would make towns like Windsor more affordable by giving first-time buyers and renters more options while easing pressure on prices.

However, Windsor residents say they have not seen those benefits and, like many cities across the Golden State, complain that the way California housing mandates are calculated remain opaque.

Echoing common frustrations, Windsor residents have argued that infrastructure — roads, parking, water systems, police, fire protection, schools, and evacuation routes — are not keeping pace with new construction in the town of about 26,000 residents.

The neighborhood meeting is from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15, in the Windsor Council Chambers at 9291 Old Redwood Highway, Building 400.

For more information contact Kim Jordan, at kjordan@townofwindsor.ca.gov or 707-838-5331.

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