Parcels sold by the Auburn City Council Monday

17 Smith Street, 0.17 acres. Assessed value $4,100, sold for $101.99

Lake Shore Drive, 1.71 acres. Assessed value $5,600, sold for $1,000.

1226 Hotel Road, 0.13 acres. Assessed value $4,000, sold for $1,000.

Kilsyth Street, 0.21 acres. Assessed value $4,200, sold for $600.

Broadview Avenue, 0.28 acres. Assessed value $4,200, sold for $5,001.

2236 Washington Avenue, 0.2 acres. Assessed value $100, sold for $10.

56 Reginald Street, 0.27 acres. Assessed value $4,200, sold for $2,100.

30 Yankee Way, 0.12 acres. Assessed value $4,000, sold for $500.

Council unloads some odd lots

AUBURN – The city is about $10,000 richer and about three acres lighter after city councilors agreed to sell eight odd-sized plots of land.

It’s part of a project to unload some of the land the city took over when the owners didn’t pay their property taxes.

The lots sold Monday were oddly shaped and small – most were less than a quarter of an acre, and the largest, a triangle-shaped plot off of Lake Shore Drive, went for $1,000.

Assistant City Manager Laurie Smith said the city has seven more odd-shaped lots left in its inventory, along with another dozen developable lots that might be useful for the city to keep.

“But I think we need to take another look at those lots, because it might be better to sell some of them,” Smith said.

The city has collected a small portfolio of real estate over the years, much of it acquired when the owners stopped paying property taxes. Last spring, councilors directed staff to look at that property to figure out which pieces could be sold, which could be donated and which should be kept for city use.

A committee of nine city staffers has come up with a list of 33 parcels, ranging from an 870-square-foot parcel along Washington Street to a 1.71 acre lot off Lake Shore Drive.

Smith said the city sent letters to all of the abutters of all 15 odd lots, notifying them the parcels were up for sale. The parcels are considered nonconforming lots. They are either too small to be built, don’t have access to roads or have other problems.

“Really, the only thing that can be done is to sell them to the abutting neighbors to be included in their property,” Smith said.

The city received a total of 10 bids for eight parcels. Three neighbors bid for a 0.27 acre lot at the end of Reginald Street. Neighbor Michael Larochelle placed the winning bid, agreeing to pay $2,100 for the parcel.

Smith said she planned to send a second round of letters to the abutters of the seven remaining parcels.