A proposal to build apartments above commercial space on Temple Hill Road could lead New Windsor to allow mixed-use development in its Limited Commercial for the first time.

The Town Board on Sept. 2 received and filed a petition from Honigsberg Realty II, LLC, the owner of approximately 5.6 acres at 432 Temple Hill Road, seeking a change to the town’s zoning code.

The property is the site of a new Best in Backyards location currently under construction. The retailer sells outdoor recreation and backyard products like swing sets, sheds and decks. Supervisor Stephen Bedetti said during an Aug. 31 town board workshop that about half of the building under construction would be used as a showroom and warehouse for the business, while the owner is seeking another commercial tenant for the other half.

On another portion of the property, the owner is looking to construct a mixed-use building with commercial space on the ground floor and apartments above, according to the petition submitted. It also described the residential portion as primarily one-bedroom apartments with some two-bedroom units.

Honigsberg Realty is asking New Windsor to amend its zoning code by adding mixed-use development to the Limited Commercial district’s table of permitted uses rather than seeking to rezone only the Temple Hill Road property, which would require a special use permit from the Planning Board.

Bedetti said the developer has shown him conceptual images of what the project could look like but a final design has not been established. He described the concept as businesses on the first floor with apartments above and said the developer has expressed particular interest in one-bedroom apartments for younger people starting out on their own.

The developer has also compared the concept to Eastdale Village, a mixed-use development in Dutchess County, according to Bedetti, with businesses intended to serve both people living in the development and other customers.

The request comes as New Windsor is beginning an update of its comprehensive plan and continues a moratorium on new warehouses and storage developments. Bedetti said the timing could allow officials to examine where mixed-use development makes sense throughout the town rather than looking solely at the Temple Hill Road property.

“I thought it was good timing for us too because with this moratorium we have on warehousing and the storage units, we’re going to do some master comprehensive plan work where this can be addressed in there,” Bedetti said.

Since the petition proposes adding mixed-use development as a special permit use in the Limited Commercial district, any development would still be subject to Planning Board review rather than being allowed automatically.

Bedetti also connected the potential for additional housing to economic development elsewhere in New Windsor, pointing to anticipated business activity around Stewart International Airport.

Traffic, however, would be among the issues that would have to be addressed if development moves forward. Bedetti said the town would expect the Temple Hill Road developer, like other developers in New Windsor, to take steps to mitigate impacts and contribute toward infrastructure needed to address traffic and other concerns.

Bedetti said that while the project cannot proceed under the town’s existing zoning, he believed construction could begin soon after the necessary approvals were obtained.

Neither the zoning change nor the development has been approved, with the Town Board’s actions limited to formally receiving and filing the petition with the Town Clerk.