WINDSOR
CREATING A DOWNTOWN
The Town quickly and methodically
made the vision a reality. Building on the
county’s efforts to have the downtown
designated a redevelopment area to raise
money for public improvements, the
Town’s first improvement was to purchase
4.5 acres of land in the middle of downtown
and create a park called the Town
Green. Then, surrounding sidewalks were
widened to 16 feet. New signs went in
to point the way to downtown, and new
entry monuments welcomed visitors and
residents once they arrived.
Town Green Village
In 2000, Windsor chose Thiessen Homes
to build a mixed-use project on 14 acres
in Old Downtown. The result, Town
Green Village, created a vibrant, smallscale
downtown with a traditional Main
Street feel. Restaurants and shops, with
homes above, are arrayed around the
Town Green, which hosts community
events throughout the year.
In less than 10 years, Old Downtown has blossomed into an attractive village center, and the work continues today. The downtown plan has been amended to increase residential densities, and additional phases of the Town Green Village are moving forward. Windsor has also completed a transit station with local and intercity bus stops, ready for the future SMART (Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit) line.
Overall, Windsor’s experience shows that
with commitment and focus, even a small
town can move from sprawl to smart
growth—in an impressively short time.
A Whole New Town Windsor has not even been a town for 20 years, but has undergone two major transformations in that time. Once a small farming community, in the 1980s, Windsor experienced the county’s fastest growth as it ballooned into an unincorporated bedroom community. In 1992, the residents responded to this uncontrolled growth by voting for incorporation, forming the Town of Windsor. This gave local residents more of a say in how their community grew. It also catalyzed the second transformation. In 1996, the town adopted a general plan,
and in 1997, a downtown plan; both
envisioned focusing development in an |
“There are amendments [to the downtown plan] every year. It is a
living document. We also change the general plan and zoning on
a regular basis. That is what you have to do—change is inevitable
and you have to accommodate it. Windsor has been successful
because we have tried to accommodate change.”
– Peter Chamberlin, Planning Director, Windsor