Auburn council reviews Auburn 2045 land‑use map and annexation steps for four study areas

City staff on Tuesday outlined proposed land‑use changes in the Auburn 2045 draft general plan and walked the council and public through the legal and fiscal steps required to annex county land into the city. Staff emphasized that the exercise is a 20‑year policy map — not a detailed annexation plan — and asked for council direction on four study areas where designations or future annexation could be considered.

The presentation covered: (1) Lincoln Way, where staff proposed changing parcels currently shown as county commercial to a mixed‑use designation that would permit residential over commercial and could allow higher densities in certain housing site proposals; (2) Bowman, where staff recommended retaining commercial designations rather than the county’s draft change to extensive mixed use; (3) the Highway 49 commercial corridor and adjacent parcels through North Auburn, where staff again recommended keeping commercial to preserve sales‑tax‑generating uses and targeted redevelopment sites; and (4) the city’s western flank from the recent Collins annexation toward Ophir Road, an area of large rural parcels and potential traditional annexation interest.

Why it matters: the general plan map establishes how the city will plan for growth and identifies areas…