Commercial Real Estate in Windsor: Town Center Zoning, the Station Area Plan and Industrial Land

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

The Town of Windsor sits on Highway 101 between Santa Rosa and Healdsburg. Its commercial property ranges from the Town Green’s shops and restaurants in Old Town to neighborhood centers, highway retail at its entrances, and business park and industrial land near the freeway and Sonoma County Airport. The town wrote its zoning around a walkable downtown, which shows in how it treats drive-throughs and ground floors. Confirm zoning for any parcel with the Town of Windsor Planning Division before relying on this page.

Who controls the parcel

Inside town limits, Title XVII of the Windsor Municipal Code is the zoning code, and the Windsor Station Area/Downtown Specific Plan adds standards for the downtown. Where the two conflict, the specific plan controls. Land outside town, including vineyard and rural parcels toward Healdsburg and Forestville, follows Permit Sonoma and County Chapter 26; see our Sonoma County commercial guide. The growth control chapter notes an urban growth boundary shown on the General Plan map.

Windsor zoning for commercial, industrial and mixed use

Chapter 17.12 sets the commercial and mixed-use zones, and Chapter 17.14 the industrial ones.

Old Town, the Town Green and the Station Area plan

Town Center. TC is Windsor’s main mixed-use zone, meant as a place to gather, shop and live. Its nonresidential intensity runs from 0.75 to 2.5 FAR, and housing must reach at least 16 units per acre.

Active frontage. In the TC-AUFO overlay, ground floors must have public-facing, walk-in uses that draw pedestrians. A ground-floor office with closed blinds or a storage use is not a fit.

Entertainment overlay. TC-EO is meant for nightlife, theaters and music venues and restricts housing, which helps avoid conflicts between venues and new residents.

Specific plan. Section 17.12.030 says properties in the Station Area/Downtown Specific Plan area have added design and development standards. Read the plan for any downtown or SMART station-area site.

Industrial land and permit levels

Windsor’s industrial use table was amended by Ordinance 2026-405 in May 2026.

• BPI permits shared commercial kitchens, banks and athletic clubs. Hotels and small industrial need a minor use permit, and large warehousing needs a CUP. Breweries, distilleries and heavy industry are not allowed.
• LI permits breweries, distilleries, contractor storage yards and small warehousing. Major industrial and composting need a minor use permit. Banks are not allowed.
• HI permits major industrial uses and freight terminals. Hazardous industry and vehicle salvage need a CUP.
• All three bar most housing, most commercial cannabis, personal storage and gas stations. Height is 50 feet, and minimum parcels are 10,000 square feet in BPI and LI and 20,000 in HI.

A beverage producer should look at LI, not BPI.

Short-term rentals and lodging

Hotels fit TC and, by minor use permit, BPI. For houses and condos, Windsor’s Chapter 23, adopted by Ordinance 2023-379 in June 2023 and amended in October 2025, allows only hosted short-term rentals. Non-hosted rentals in residential districts had to end by July 1, 2025. Only individual owners or their family trusts can apply, not LLCs. ADUs cannot be rented short-term, and licenses do not transfer on sale.

Transfer tax, business tax and property tax

The County Recorder charges $0.55 per $500, less assumed loans, and lists the Town of Windsor among places where only that rate applies. Windsor has a documentary transfer tax chapter in Title II, which we did not read. Business licenses are in Title III, Chapter 6; we did not verify rates. A change of ownership generally triggers Proposition 13 reassessment.

Due diligence that matters in Windsor

Start with our commercial due diligence checklist, then add:

• Confirm the parcel is inside town limits and the urban growth boundary.
• Downtown, check for the AUFO or EO overlay and read the specific plan standards.
• If a tenant needs a drive-through, confirm the zone allows one, usually by CUP in CC, SC or GC.
• For industrial users, match your use to BPI, LI or HI in Table 17.14-01.
• Check minimum FAR and density in TC and BMU before planning a small project.
• For mixed use, ask about growth control allocations; core downtown projects are exempt.

Questions people ask

Sources & notes

1. Windsor Municipal Code (GoCodebook)
2. Chapter 17.12, Commercial and Mixed-Use Zones
3. Chapter 17.14, Industrial Zones
4. Title III, Chapter 23, Short-Term Rentals
5. Title XVI, Chapter 4, Growth Control
6. Sonoma County Recorder, documentary transfer tax

Note: We read the code through GoCodebook’s October 2026 edition. We did not read the Station Area/Downtown Specific Plan, commercial height standards, the drive-through standards in Section 17.40.100, the town’s transfer tax or business license chapters, or confirm whether the growth boundary was voter adopted or when it expires. See also our Sonoma County multifamily guide.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.

Related: Windsor real estate guide · Multifamily property in Windsor · Commercial real estate services