AUBURN — The Auburn City Council approved several new zoning changes Monday night, opening up four parcels of land along Center Street to commercial use.

With the property rezoned from Urban Residential to General Business, a parcel at 314 Center St. will become the new home of Bill Turner’s Maine Source Realty office. Public comment on that issue was limited at Monday’s meeting, and the amendment quickly passed with all six councilors voting in support.

Discussion on three other parcels located between Center and Blackmer streets was more heated. The owners of the three parcels also sought to have their properties changed from Urban Residential to General Business. None have commercial projects lined up at the moment, but it is likely that the parcels would be combined to increase their attractiveness to potential developers.

The first parcel, 10 Blackmer St., backs up to the vacant Paris Farmers Union building at 410 Center St. Both the Blackmer and Center streets’ parcels are owned by Peter Chapman.

The second parcel, 400 Center St., is a vacant office building owned by TSI Inc. That lot had split zoning: The Center Street half was zoned for general business while the Blackmer Street was zoned for urban residential.

The third is a grassy lot at the corner of Blackmer and Alpha streets, owned by Constance Whitmore. It backs up to the commercially zoned office building at 392 Center St.

A number of neighborhood residents attended the meeting and spoke during the public hearing that preceded the council’s vote, most resigned to the fact that the rezoning would take place but fighting for the council to mandate a 25-foot green buffer from the each parcel’s property line.

The last time the rezoning amendment for those parcels was discussed, city councilors reduced a proposed 25-foot buffer, which would be planted with trees or shrubbery, to a 10-foot one in line with set-back restrictions across the city. Neighbors argued that councilors should rescind the previous decision and force the 25-foot buffer, which city planner Eric Cousins said was intended to reduce the visual impact of new commercial structures on the neighborhood as well as limit access to the parcels from residential streets.

Neither the 25-foot barrier nor the 10-foot buffer would have had any impact on the 25-foot set-back rule for buildings. However, it will allow for parking up to 10 feet from the property line.

Earlier on Monday, neighbors of the three adjoining parcels submitted a petition with about 200 names to the council, asking that the 25 foot buffer be reinstated.

“I think it’s the least the owners could do to keep that 25-foot buffer, since they want to sell residential (parcels) as commercial,” University Street resident Kathy Serpico said during the public hearing.

While Councilor-at-large Belinda Gerry said she would defend people’s rights to petition “with my life,” the councilors ultimately were not swayed to change the 10-foot buffer decision, and passed the re-zoning amendment on the Blackmer parcels 4 to 2.

The council also voted to change a voting ordinance to allow for the development of hotels in the industrial area near the airport. Previously, only motels were allowed in that area.

In his remarks to the council, Cousens said that a developer had approached the city with a plan to create a hotel in the industrial area. Asked by Councilor Mike Farrell if changing the zoning rule would help or hinder the developer’s plan, Cousens said, “It will make it possible.”

Staff writer Scott Taylor contributed reporting to this article.