Auburn council orders work session, asks staff to draft possible moratorium after staff warns downtown traffic and stormwater strain

At its Oct. 21, 2025 meeting, the Auburn City Council directed staff to prepare a draft ordinance that could impose a targeted development pause and scheduled a work session to review the draft, after staff told councilors that recent dense projects have produced traffic and stormwater pressures in the downtown and Urban Neighborhood West areas.

City Manager Megan (identified in the meeting as the city manager) told the council that current mitigation options available at project review — chiefly signal timing and small site adjustments — are reaching limits in portions of the urban core. “It is an awareness that these are the tools that you have,” she said, adding that the city is embarking on a citywide traffic study and a comprehensive zoning update that could take longer to complete.

The council asked staff to bring a draft ordinance that would outline the scope and timeline of any pause, and to advertise that draft for the Nov. 4, 2025 council meeting. Councilors agreed to hold a work session “on the third” (as stated in the meeting) before the Nov. 4 vote; staff said the draft ordinance and the council packet would be published on Oct. 31.

Why it matters

A moratorium — a temporary ordinance that suspends some types of development approvals — would temporarily limit…