AUBURN — City officials will host a public discussion Wednesday related to Auburn’s recent push to amend zoning ordinances to encourage housing growth, rehabilitation and development.
City Councilor Holly Lasagna said Monday that she requested the meeting to address questions and concerns she’s heard from constituents as the city considers several zoning changes and updates. The Planning Board held a special meeting last week to catch up on a backlog of work, including an update that would allow property owners in residential zones to construct detached secondary dwellings.
Lasagna said the meeting will allow residents to ask questions about how the pending changes could impact them.
“I have heard about some general confusion about these zoning changes as well as a desire to have an in-person forum for a Q&A,” she said. “People were concerned that with limited access to council meetings, questions were not being addressed.”
It will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Auburn Senior Community Center. Registration is required due to limited space and COVID-19 protocols.
Most of the proposed zoning changes under consideration are intended to give residents more options with their properties, with officials hoping that increased housing options can address an area housing shortage.
Mayor Jason Levesque said last week that the meeting is meant to be a “two-way” conversation between elected officials and the public. He’s hoping the conversation can glean more ideas from the public, but also show how the proposals could benefit the average homeowner.
“It’s really about how do we increase value in the city of Auburn, at the individual level,” he said, through changes like detached “in-law” dwellings. “It’s a way to put some faces behind some of the positive changes that are being worked on right now.”
A description on the city’s website states that topics will include “pending zoning changes that will lift restrictions that limit our city’s opportunities for growth.”
Levesque said that if there are concerns, officials want to hear them, but he said he’s hoping Wednesday’s discussion is more of a “collaboration” between officials and residents.
He said he’s had several people reach out in favor of adding secondary dwellings, and a few tell him the city shouldn’t change anything.
But, he said, “Part of our job is to make this city sustainable for generations, and if we’re going to do that, we’re going to have some growth.”
During his recent “state of the city” address, Levesque called for a substantial increase in housing development — some 2,000 single-family homes — over the next five years, while asking officials to remove regulation barriers and encourage infill development in the downtown.
Infill development is the process of developing vacant or underused parcels within urban areas that are already largely developed.
In September, the City Council agreed in concept to a six-month process to increase the available housing units in the city, a decision driven by the current housing market.
In February, officials expanded Auburn’s form-based code district known as Traditional Downtown Neighborhood to a swath of the downtown and New Auburn.
Levesque said last week that data shows Auburn can absorb “another 6,000 residents without taxes going up.”
Due to limited space, registration is required at www.communityconversation.eventzilla.net.
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