Auburn councilors and staff weigh vacant building registration, fees and exemptions

At a May 19 Auburn City Council workshop, Eric Cousins, Auburn public services director, and Chris Bowden presented a draft ordinance to require registration and periodic inspection of vacant buildings, saying the measure would improve neighborhood awareness, aid first responders and could incentivize property owners to return units to service.

The measure would require a registration that is renewed at six-month intervals and, in many cases, impose a fee schedule that increases with time and building size; Cousins said census-based housing-study estimates suggest 6–7% of units in Auburn may be vacant — “that would put us at, you know, over 500 units, not necessarily buildings,” — and the city currently lacks a reliable registry.

Councilors said the registry could help emergency responders, but they also pressed for clearer definitions, caps on escalating fees and procedures to avoid penalizing owners who are maintaining property for legitimate reasons. Councilor Adam Platts asked how many properties the ordinance would affect and…