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City outlines steps to tackle vacant commercial buildings in Old Town

Auburn City Council · March 23, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Economic development director Jonathan Reich told the council that the city is using nuisance-abatement notices, a nascent vacancy registry, potential signage controls, and window-art concepts to address long-standing vacant storefronts and improve downtown vitality.

The Auburn City Council heard a detailed update on vacant commercial properties in Old Town from Economic Development Director Jonathan Reich on March 23.

Reich said vacant commercial properties create blight, discourage investment and can become attractive nuisances. "Vacant commercial buildings do cause issues within our community," Reich said. "They're major sources of blight." He said the city has combined nuisance-abatement letters (sent with Auburn…

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