The Windsor Town Council will be asked next month to rezone 42 vacant acres for development of a 212-unit housing complex.

We hope the council approves it.

Residential development has its drawbacks, but if done in the right areas, it has its benefits.

Napolitano Homes and Franciscus Homes, both in Virginia Beach, have proposed the development for North Court Street across from Windsor Middle School and next to Twin Pines Mobile Home Park.

Tentatively named Cambridge at Windsor, the development would include about 85 single-family homes ranging from the low to high $200,000s. The development also would include about 85 duplexes that will sell from the high $100,000s to the low $200,000s and four, 10-unit buildings with condominiums starting at $160,000, Napolitano said.

The property lies in an area zoned for agriculture and single-family homes, which must be built on minimum five-acre lots. The developer needs to have the property rezoned to allow for multi-family homes.

The Windsor Planning Commission has recommended that the Town Council approve the rezoning request.

The good news is that this housing development is proposed for an area that is already residential in nature. It makes sense to build in the areas with the greatest population in hopes of keeping rural areas rural.

Also, there is a need for homes that middle-income families can afford. This development would fill that niche.

Also, the Town of Windsor and Isle of Wight County would benefit. According to the developers, the new homes will generate $51,310 in real estate taxes annually for Windsor and $226,812 for the county.

— The Tidewater News