A developer’s proposal would build 160 housing units on land between Stetson and North River roads in Auburn. The plan goes before the Planning Board Tuesday. Courtesy of city of Auburn

AUBURN — The Planning Board will review a slightly amended proposal for a 160-unit housing development off Stetson Road this week.

The 50-building development would feature 30 quadplexes and 20 duplexes — six fewer buildings than what developer A.R. Building Company had initially proposed earlier this year. A site plan review for the project was twice postponed, but will be in front of the Planning Board on Tuesday.

If approved, the project would be a significant addition to the housing stock in Auburn. It would be the second project by the Pennsylvania-based A.R. Building Company, which is rebuilding a portion of its Mt. Auburn Avenue development lost to fire last year.

The updated proposal under review this week is 20 units fewer than the proposal postponed last month. Planning Coordinator Natalie Thomsen said the project was scaled down to ensure compliance with rules that require that all buildings on a site be separated by a distance equivalent to the height of the higher building or 30 feet, whichever is greater. To meet the requirement without impacting wetlands on the site, the developer reduced the total number of units, she said.

A Planning Board memo said the proposed development “is well within compliance” with density limits, “with additional land available for roads, open space, and other site improvements.”

A concept image shows the design of the quadplexes and duplexes proposed for a 160-unit development off Stetson Road. The Planning Board will hold a hearing Tuesday. Courtesy of city of Auburn

Access to the development would be in two locations along Stetson Road. Thomsen said due to the reduction in units, it not longer carries the requirement for a traffic movement permit from the Maine Department of Transportation. However, she said, the developer provided a comprehensive traffic impact study.

According to the study, the proposed development will generate 92 trips during the morning peak hour, 104 trips during the afternoon peak hour, and 109 trips during the Saturday peak hour.

The memo states that the project will have a total of 322 parking spaces, with 120 garage spaces and 202 surface spaces.

In January, city staff recommended that the board table the project in order for the developer to redesign its sidewalk plans in response to feedback from the city.

The staff memo says the developer has proposed a sidewalk that “will enhance pedestrian access by connecting the project back to Center Street, ensuring a safer and more efficient pedestrian network.”

The land lies across Stetson Road from the Schooner Estates assisted living facility and Andwell Hospice House, but is also near the YMCA Outdoor Education Center and businesses along Center Street. On the North River Road side, there’s farmland and the Androscoggin River.

One of the recommended conditions of approval by planning staff is that a sidewalk along Stetson Road must be “completed to the city’s satisfaction” prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the last unit constructed in Phase 1. According to a memo, the project would be built in three phases.