Auburn planning commission forwards Donna Crossing rezoning and narrows PDD uses after strong neighborhood opposition

The Auburn City Planning Commission voted Jan. 14 to recommend rezoning about 13.74 acres at the southeast corner of North Donahue Drive and Farmville Road from rural to Comprehensive Development District, conditioned on approval of a Planned Development District overlay and with limits the commission added to the PDD and conditional-use approvals.

The commission also approved a staff-recommended waiver reducing the required buffer along the eastern property edge adjacent to Woodland Pines Elementary from 15 feet to 5 feet and accepted the developer’s commitment to provide a stronger buffer and a type-3 fence along residential backyards. The PDD and the site’s conditional uses will now go to Auburn City Council for final action; the commission listed several uses it would not permit under the PDD and asked council to consider additional restrictions raised during public comment.

The votes follow more than two hours of public comment from roughly three dozen residents of nearby neighborhoods including Donahue Ridge, Camden Ridge and adjacent subdivisions. Speakers repeatedly raised traffic, noise, light and safety concerns for children at Woodland Pines and for residents whose backyards border the proposed development. “We would note that shortly after the previous opposition, eight ugly billboards were constructed along Donahue, decreasing the beauty of the area and our property values,” resident Nancy Gallagher told commissioners.

Staff and the applicant framed the request as a neighborhood commercial node consistent with the city’s Comprehensive Plan 2030 and…