Winchester planning committee pauses Side Hill rezoning after local industrial businesses raise finance and expansion concerns

The Planning and Economic Development Committee continued a city-sponsored rezoning of roughly 97 acres in the Side Hill area — the Side Hill Neighborhood Design District (NDD) rezoning — after business owners and city staff discussed how the NDD could affect existing light-industrial operations.

The committee did not vote to send the rezoning forward and agreed to revisit the item at its August meeting, asking staff to meet with affected property owners beforehand.

City planning staff told the committee the NDD is intended to "allow a flexible mix of commercial, residential, other uses and create a focal point" for future redevelopment in Side Hill while implementing recently approved plan changes. Staff described several accommodation options for existing M1 (light industrial) uses now mapped into the NDD, including limited by-right expansion of nonconforming uses (staff cited example expansion thresholds such as 10%), a conditional-use path for larger expansions and the option of…