Planning Commission backs three‑year reapproval for extended‑stay lodging at 11–13 Gibbon Street

The Winchester City Planning Commission recommended approval of a reapproval for conditional use permit CUP‑24806 on a vote during its January meeting, allowing extended‑stay lodging at 11–13 Gibbon Street for a three‑year period.

Planning staff explained the request as a reapproval of an extended‑stay lodging use that originally received a five‑year permit in 2019 and had expired about a year earlier. The site is zoned CM‑1; staff said extended‑stay lodging was the closest residential‑type use available under the existing CM‑1 zoning and noted the property had lost any grandfathered residential status prior to the 2019 approval.

The staff presentation said the 2019 approval included several conditions: submittal of floor plans, participation in the city rental inspection program, off‑street parking provided by a separate parking agreement and property management provisions including weekly maid service as defined by the ordinance. For the reapproval staff proposed changes including shortening the permit to three years to account for the pending Neighborhood Design District (NDD) rezoning work in the area.

Commissioners asked about continuous operation since 2019 and lodging tax compliance. Staff said the use has been continuous and has passed the rental inspection twice, with only one minor building code correction in 2024; staff did not have an answer on lodging‑tax collection and said the commissioner of the revenue handles that question and the commission should seek an answer before the City Council hearing.

A question about neighborhood notice drew a staff response that the applicant confirmed letters had been mailed to all property owners within 300 feet, following the same notification procedure used for the original permit. Commissioners debated a wording change that would replace the phrase “weekly maid service” with “residential cleaning service” and confirmed the zoning condition could allow the owner to serve as local property manager rather than requiring a separate professional management company.

Motion language recommending approval stated the use “will not adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of persons residing or working in the neighborhood” and made the approval subject to the seven written conditions presented to the commission. The motion passed; commissioners voted in favor with no opposition recorded during the roll call.

The recommendation now goes to City Council for final action; staff advised the applicant and commission to be prepared to answer tax‑collection questions at that hearing.