Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Auburn planners outline comprehensive‑plan timeline; committee aims for final plan by mid‑2026
Summary
City planning staff and the comprehensive plan committee presented an update on the plan process, reporting about 1,800 engagement inputs to date, a draft vision to be finalized in October, draft future‑land‑use work Oct–Dec, wide public engagement in January and a goal of completing the plan by June 2026.
City planning staff and the comprehensive plan committee updated the Auburn Planning Board on Oct. 14 about progress on a new comprehensive plan and the schedule for public review.
Long-range planner Lauren Cafe and committee chair John Cleveland described an inventory analysis conducted March–August covering population, water and natural resources, housing, transportation, historic resources, community services and fiscal capacity. Cleveland said the committee includes 17 members plus municipal staff and consultants and that the plan is being structured around a vision statement, four guiding principles and eight goals.
Staff summarized outreach: mailings to roughly 11,000 households, tabling at community events (including National Night Out and the Lewiston Farmers Market), three open houses, youth and focus‑group events, posters at community locations and online engagement through a Social Pinpoint site. "In total, we've had about 15,000 invites and mailings," staff said, and reported "about 1,800 total engagement or inputs to date." The presenters said outreach will continue through the fall and into a major community input month in January.
Cleveland said the committee expects to finalize a draft vision statement at the October meeting, develop a draft future‑land‑use map and policies from October through December, conduct broad public input in January, then produce a final comprehensive plan for public input and adoption targeting June 2026 (presenters also referenced January–July 2026 as the drafting window).
Board members asked how implementation and accountability would be maintained after adoption. Cleveland suggested requiring annual reporting by elected officials and administrators tied to the city’s five‑year capital improvement plan so progress on plan recommendations can be tracked. Committee members and board members discussed returning to the board early in 2026 for additional updates.
Next steps: finalize draft vision at the October meeting, complete drafts of the map/policies by December, host large public engagement in January, and continue to refine the plan for a target completion in mid‑2026.
