AUBURN — The City Council is expected to take action next week on items related to two citizen petitions seeking to repeal new controversial zoning.

First, the council will vote to repeal the March rezoning of land between Gracelawn Road and Lake Auburn, which brought it into a commercial zone. A petition came in response to concerns for development at the former gravel pit, which lies along the Lake Auburn watershed boundary.

Petitioners received enough valid signatures to force the repeal, which is slated to occur Tuesday.

Property owner John Gendron has filed a separate petition to rezone a section of the land to the T-4.2, or “traditional downtown neighborhood” zoning. If approved, Gendron told the Sun Journal he would pursue the development of a mix of condominiums and single-family homes on 58 acres.

The land has also been at the center of a lawsuit between Lewiston and the Auburn Water District, which contends that the land is part of the watershed boundary and could impact lake water quality. Auburn officials, as well as Gendron, have cited a study that says the land should not be considered part of the watershed.

City staff said Thursday that Gendron’s petition hearing at the Planning Board will likely not be held until October or November.

Zach Lingley, a consultant working with Gendron, said the engineer overseeing the technical design elements of the project is unavailable for the September meeting, so he asked to move it to a future agenda.

Also on Tuesday, the council will vote on amending the zoning type known as T-4.2B and apply it to the residential area surrounding Court Street.

The zoning type was established in response to concerns from neighborhood residents about an initial rezoning to T-4.2, which allows for a broader range of residential and commercial uses.

A successful petition effort, led by a group called Citizens for Sensible Growth, argued last month that rather than repeal the zoning, the city should have sent the question to voters this November.

The group has also argued that the new T-4.2B zoning, which makes several commercial uses allowed only by special exception, is too similar to the zoning that led to the initial petition effort.

An attorney for the petition group has said the city’s plan to repeal the T-4.2 zoning and replace it with  a similar zoning makes a “deliberate end run around the citizens’ referendum process.” However, city officials contend that the change is substantial.

The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the issue and provide a recommendation to the council Sept. 13. The council would hold a final reading Sept. 19.

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