AUBURN – New city authority to sign off on storm-water management plans should be a boost for small development projects, according to city officials.

Economic Development Director Roland Miller said the state Department of Environmental Protection agreed to let Auburn approve storm-water plans for developments smaller than seven acres as of July 1. Those plans determine how storm runoff from developments will be treated and how it will be kept from flowing into nearby rivers or lakes.

The city already has the authority to sign off on site plans and traffic permits for similarly sized projects.

“The biggest beneficiaries are the smaller developers, the small local businesses that want to expand,” Miller said. “There’s a lot we can provide, in the way of advice and familiarity that the state can’t.”

Developers frequently need state permits proving that they have studied the changes a project will have on the surrounding environmental or traffic patterns. But Miller said Auburn has worked to make its ordinances match state rules. The state recognized those changes, and gave Auburn the authority to review projects and issue permits.

It will mean faster local development approvals, he said.

“While it may take 120 days just to get started with the state review, we can get that far in just 30 days,” Miller said. “With the state, if something is missing, the project has to start over from the beginning. But we can look at and tell within minutes if they have all the necessary studies and forms.”