AUBURN — A 160-unit housing development project slated for the area between Stetson and North River roads got the OK from the Planning Board this week.

The development, by the Pennsylvania-based A.R. Building Company, will place 30 quadplexes and 20 duplexes on the site, providing what one resident believes is much-needed and much sought-after housing in Auburn.

Spencer Dunn, speaking during public comment at Tuesday’s Planning Board meeting, said the project will “begin to fill a major hole in our local housing stock,” but he also questioned why the development was scaled back from its initial 180-unit plan.

He said the changes made to the proposal were unnecessary given previous housing projects approved and zoning that allows for much greater density.

“Very few, if any, developers were subject to or willing to engage in this level of revision,” he said.

Earlier this week, 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.

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.

John Rice, director of operations at Schooner Estates, said during the hearing that the development will be “quite a dramatic change” for the people living at Schooner Estates, and he urged the city and developer to consider a more robust tree planting plan along Stetson Road.

The board ultimately approved the site plan for the project, with a number of conditions, including that “proper year-long vegetative screening must be applied along Stetson Road,” and 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.

Other conditions relate to the project’s use of the public sewer utility. Before the housing can be tied into the Auburn Sewer District lines, the developer must complete all infrastructure improvements, secure final approval of a pump station design, conduct required testing and inspections, and more.

It will 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.

A concept image shows the design of the quadplexes and duplexes proposed for a 160-unit development off Stetson Road. The project was approved by the Planning Board this week. Courtesy of city of Auburn