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Winchester planning commission to correct and re-adopt zoning map, proposes parcel rezoning and color standardization
Summary
The Planning & Zoning Commission reviewed an updated zoning map and identified multiple parcel boundary errors and zoning misclassifications; commissioners directed staff to refine edits and bring a revised map back for public hearing scheduling.
The Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a newly drafted zoning map and agreed to correct parcel-boundary errors and several zoning classifications before scheduling a public hearing.
Commissioners and staff said the town’s official zoning map had not been re-adopted since February 2017 and that recent GIS updates and parcel changes had not been formally incorporated. Staff presented a draft showing corrections such as a parcel the marina recently purchased, a former KFC property now mapped as Town Gateway, and a large former manufacturing parcel currently used for storage that staff recommended for Town Gateway rather than Rural Residential.
The commission discussed several clusters of small, closely spaced lots that planners recommended moving from Rural Residential to Town Single Family to reduce the number of nonconforming lots. Commissioners asked staff to double-check a narrow access strip and boundary lines around the lake parcel that appear to be misaligned, and to verify record maps filed in the town clerk’s office before finalizing changes. Staff said they obtained parcel data from the town’s GIS provider (Timmins) but would confirm whether a boundary adjustment was formally recorded.
Commissioners also asked staff to confirm specific addresses discussed (including 86 Strong Terrace) and to verify earlier, piecemeal changes made on the north end of town that had not been officially adopted. Several commissioners signaled support for shifting certain parcels adjacent to Town Gateway to that designation while moving other small lots into Town Single Family to reduce nonconformities.
Staff recommended a more conventional, widely used zoning-map color scheme (shades of yellow for residential, red for commercial, pink/purple for industrial) to improve legibility for residents and applicants. Commissioners expressed no objection to standardizing colors.
Next steps: staff will make the discussed edits, highlight the specific parcels proposed for change, and present an amended map for the commission to review at a future meeting. The commission discussed using the April 14 meeting to review the edits and possibly schedule a public hearing at the commission’s second meeting in May; a final public hearing date was not set at the March 24 meeting.
Ending: Commissioners instructed staff to prepare a marked-up map and a list of parcels to include with the public-hearing materials; no formal vote on the zoning map was held on March 24.
