Windsor voters appear to be overwhelmingly approving parking district

WINDSOR — Windsor voters appear to be overwhelmingly defying the will of their town board over the issue of the so-called Windsor backlots.

The backlots are a three-block sliver of undeveloped property on the north side of the businesses on Main Street between the backs of those businesses and the railroad tracks. 

The town and the Downtown Development Authority had hoped to develop those lots, which the DDA and the town own, into additional commercial space, housing and parking.

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The unpaved backlots have been used for multiple years as overflow parking for people shopping downtown or visiting Windsor Lake.

When development plans for the lots became known, a group of residents asked the town to create a permanent parking district on those lots and keep them from being developed. The town board declined, and the residents presented sufficient signatures to force the issue onto a special election ballot. The town board passed a resolution in opposition to the initiative. 

The election was Tuesday.

While final results will not be certified until Feb. 3, preliminary tallies show an outcome that appears to be insurmountable.

According to an update from the town clerk Saturday evening, 6,957 residents voted in favor of the permanent parking district. Just 1,629 voted against the parking district.

The town clerk is required to accept ballots from uniformed and overseas absentee voters until Wednesday, Feb. 1. The clerk also said that about 800 ballots could still be cured prior to the Feb. 1 deadline. Curing refers to the process of correcting technical errors stemming from ballot security measures.

Town hall is open extended hours through Wednesday to permit access to voters who want to cure their ballots. Those voters who could cure their ballots have been notified by mail, the clerk said.