AUBURN — In its first meeting after being sworn in last week, the new City Council took surprise action to delay ordinances regarding the Lake Auburn watershed that had been approved by the previous council earlier this month.
The move came after the City Council met in executive session earlier Monday, with the council voting to direct City Manager Phil Crowell to draft amendments that would delay the applicability date of an updated septic design standard and the rezoning of 60 acres off Gracelawn Road owned by John Gendron.
The council order, passing 5-2, asks Crowell to prepare the zoning amendments in time for a first reading at the council’s Jan. 2 meeting. Councilors Steve Milks and Leroy Walker voted against the measure. Milks and Walker had supported both ordinance changes during the previous term.
It was the first major action by the council in its first term under Mayor Jeff Harmon, who campaigned on bringing trust and transparency back to city government.
The two ordinances referenced by the council order were not named during the meeting, and no one from the public spoke.
Both the septic design standard and rezoning of Gendron’s land have been debated for months, and are related to the ongoing lawsuit over the lake between the city of Lewiston and the Auburn Water District. Lewiston administration recently signaled that it supported the Dec. 4 ordinance changes made by Auburn, and the City Council is slated to vote on amendments to its “Cooperation Agreement for Lake Auburn Watershed Protection” with the Auburn Water District on Tuesday.
Gendron previously proposed an 1,100-unit housing development on the Gracelawn Road land, but never elaborated on the scope of the proposal, not knowing at the time what zoning ordinance changes and watershed boundary revisions would allow. A new watershed boundary was recently approved by the Maine Drinking Water Program, which led to the proposal to rezone a portion of Gendron’s property to a zoning type that allows for a range of commercial uses.
Following the vote, Councilor Rick Whiting, who was reelected in November, then made motions to rescind previous council action taken Dec. 4 to reappoint three Planning Board members: Evan Cyr, Riley Bergeron and Tim DeRoche.
After a brief recess to consult council rules, the council eventually voted 4-3 to rescind each reappointment. Whiting argued that the previous council acted out of practice when it made the reappointments so close to the end of its term. He said it was “nothing personal” about the Planning Board members, but rather the process that was used.
City staff defended its process to post the Planning Board seats, along with other open seats on city boards.
Crowell said “everything within the policy was followed,” but said the council may want to revisit the reappointment policy going forward.
In other council action, Harmon announced several councilor appointments to boards and committees, including appointing himself to the Auburn Water District board of trustees. Milks had been serving as the council’s representative on the water district trustees, where he was elected chair. Harmon instead appointed Milks to the sewer district trustees.
Harmon also formally announced plans for ad hoc committees on housing and homelessness, which he had mentioned in last week’s inaugural address.
During public comment, several people spoke about their struggle with homelessness and substance use.
Greg Whitney, the president of the Pleasant Street Drop-In Center at the First Universalist Church in Auburn, said the city needs an overnight shelter and/or a warming shelter. He said days like Monday, with the battering rain and wind, make that clear.
“I can not imagine being homeless on a day like today,” he said.
Auburn zoning does not allow emergency shelters in the city. Harmon said in his inaugural address that it is “far past time for action to be taken” to address homelessness.
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