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Auburn council approves PUD zoning amendments to make PUDs run with land, set 24‑month expiration
Summary
The Auburn City Council approved zoning-text amendments that codify planned unit developments (PUDs) as rezonings that run with the land, add a 24‑month expiration if not executed, and create a process allowing buyers to petition to terminate a PUD and seek rezoning.
The Auburn City Council on March 18 approved amendments to its zoning ordinance that create a new framework for planned unit developments, known as PUDs, in the city.
The ordinance—amending Article III, section 304, and Article V, sections 504 and 505—codifies that an approved PUD runs with the land rather than remaining tied to a specific applicant, sets a 24‑month expiration if the PUD is not executed, and allows a buyer of property subject to an approved PUD to petition the city to terminate the PUD and request rezoning.
The change was carried after the council first completed a procedural unanimous‑consent vote (the item had been postponed from the Jan. 23 meeting) and after members voted to add two amendments that were read into the record. Planning Director Justice Lehi Cotton told the council the intent was to give PUDs “a test run” before expanding them into other zoning districts: “The thought process behind excluding NC and rural at this time was to allow for the PUDs to show and prove that they can be positive impact in the community and that they're not gonna be used to cannibalize either of those zoning districts.”
One amendment reads that “approved PUDs or rezonings that run with the land” remain binding on subsequent transactions; another amendment adds an explicit 24‑month expiration for a PUD if it is not performed and clarifies that a purchaser of property subject to a PUD may petition the Planning Commission and City Council to terminate the PUD and request rezoning, which “shall be evaluated under the city's rezoning criteria.”
Council members asked staff to review the ordinance after its first year in effect and to consider whether to allow PUDs in additional districts later. Councilman Griswold and others praised the work of staff and stakeholders. The council moved to approve the ordinance “with both amendments” and proceeded to a roll call vote; the motion passed as recorded on the meeting audio.
The ordinance had been recommended unanimously by the Planning Commission at its Dec. 12, 2024 meeting and was previously postponed by the City Council on Jan. 23 when the unanimous‑consent procedural vote had not been completed.
What changed: the amendments (1) formally state that an approved PUD runs with the land; (2) set an expiration—24 months—if the PUD is not executed; and (3) create a process for purchasers to petition for termination of a PUD and seek rezoning, with the Planning Commission and City Council applying the city's rezoning criteria.
Council discussion noted that the PUD rule will initially exclude the NC (neighborhood commercial) and rural zoning districts so the ordinance may be evaluated and adjusted after the city sees how it operates in practice. Staff said the ordinance is intended to be actively reviewed and revised as needed.
Votes at a glance: the City Council approved the zoning text amendment as presented and adopted the two amendments read into the record. The meeting record shows a motion to approve with both amendments followed by a roll call vote; the motion carried.
Next steps: Staff will implement the ordinance changes and monitor their use. Council asked staff to review past practices on applicant presentations and to bring a discussion of development‑presentation protocol to the next Committee of the Whole meeting.
