Auburn presents new downtown subarea plan and planned-action ordinance; public hearing set for Dec. 15

Alexandria Teague, Auburn27s planning services manager, presented the draft 2024 downtown subarea plan and accompanying planned-action ordinance to the council Dec. 8, calling the effort "a full rethinking of the downtown area" to accommodate forecast growth and align with the state Growth Management Act and Puget Sound Regional Council27s Vision 2050.

Teague said the city is one of 29 regional growth centers and cited local targets through 2044 of roughly 19,520 new jobs and 12,112 new housing units. The draft plan proposes expanding the downtown boundary north of 3rd and 4th Streets NE, adopting multiple Downtown Urban Center (DUC) zoning districts (rather than a single downtown zone), and updating design standards; an open house on downtown design standards is scheduled for Feb. 12.

Key policy additions include vacant-storefront rules (for example, display requirements if ground-floor windows face sidewalks and remain unoccupied for six months) and anti-displacement provisions to enable middle-housing types to rebuild after a total loss. Teague emphasized the city is not taking property and that staff plan to review and update nonconforming-use standards in a subsequent code update.

Teague also described the planned-action ordinance (ordinance 7006) and the downtown environmental impact statement that supports it. The planned action would allow qualifying projects that meet established thresholds and mitigation measures to avoid separate SEPA review; staff said the EIS found relatively few unmitigated impacts but identified one intersection (C Street NW and 3rd Street NW) that does not meet level-of-service standards and will require mitigation. Teague said the public hearing on findings for ordinance 7006 is scheduled for Dec. 15.

In council Q&A, staff explained required public-hearing notice procedures are prescriptive (mailed notice to property owners, publication in the newspaper, and posting) and acknowledged outreach gaps for some businesses and residents who said they left open houses confused. Staff committed to additional follow-up, confirmed work on a citywide nonconforming-code update with a planning study session expected in May 2026, and reiterated a multi-step code amendment and planning-commission review process for development regulations.

No formal council action was taken at the study session; staff asked council to review materials in the packet and to attend the scheduled public hearing on Dec. 15 if they wish to take formal action.