The Auburn Planning Commission approved the annexation of 127 acres of a larger 223-acre property on Society Hill Road, approved a 37-lot preliminary plat for the subdivision called Cole Place, and granted a waiver from the subdivision regulations for placing a greenway easement across part of the parcel in exchange for a guaranteed city greenway easement on a narrow Robinson Creek "notch" on parcel number 18010160001001.

The annexation request calls for the 127 acres to enter the city with a rural base zoning and the conservation overlay district because the site falls within the Opal Tree watershed. Staff said the area is currently served by rural water authority and is distant from sanitary sewer: "There is no sanitary sewer service there," staff said, and the nearest sewer was described as several miles away toward East Lake/Division.

Preliminary plat and greenway discussion: the subdivision preliminary plat covers the full 223 acres though about two-thirds of Lot 14 and one other large lot will remain in the county. The developer requested a waiver of subdivision regulations that would otherwise require the greenway to be placed in a public greenway easement on the parcel. The applicant and staff negotiated a condition: instead of dedicating the greenway easement across the main parcel, the owner agreed to provide the city with greenway access on a narrow "notch" of land along Robinson Creek (parcel 18010160001001) so the city's mapped greenway could continue south and achieve longer continuous connectivity.

Why it matters: the city's greenway map shows a proposed trail that would extend south along Robinson Creek and connect existing and planned greenway segments. Staff and the applicant said routing the greenway through the "notch" and preserving that access would enable the longer trail connection without forcing a public easement across the residential subdivision interior, which the developer said would materially change the neighborhood character.

Public comment and property-rights context: neighboring landowner Steve Ward asked the commission to consider future right-of-way connectivity to the north and suggested a reservation of stubbed rights-of-way to facilitate future road extension; staff and the commission said such a land dedication would require negotiation with the property owner and cannot be compelled by the commission as a condition of the plat approval. "If he would like that, that's essentially asking for land. He needs to work that out with the property owner," staff told the meeting.

Approvals and conditions: commissioners approved annexation (AX2025-006), the preliminary plat (PP2025-021, Cole Place) and the waiver on the condition that the owner dedicate the greenway easement over parcel 18010160001001 along Robinson Creek by administrative plat (to be presented to and approved by staff) prior to final plat or other approvals. The waiver approval included language directing staff to verify the greenway dedication in a recorded document.

Infrastructure and utilities: staff noted no current sanitary sewer service and that the property is served by rural water; any future city services such as sewer would require major extensions and coordination and could be years away. Commissioners and staff said the annexation score (priority) is currently low because the property lacks nearby utilities, but that watershed concerns (Lake Ogletree/Opal Tree watershed) have created local interest in bringing some areas into city oversight if development occurs.

Ending note: the conditions require the owner to provide a legal description and recorded dedication (administrative plat) for the notch easement to preserve the greenway connection; infrastructure extensions such as sewer were not part of the approvals and must be addressed if/when development proceeds.