Auburn Planning Commission approves Fieldhouse development plan with parking upgrades and drainage conditions

On May 12, 2026, the Auburn Planning Commission voted to approve PC Development Plan 2026-002, clearing a request by property owner Venture 427 LLC for parking-lot improvements and a potential future building addition at 3375 County Road 427, subject to five staff-recommended conditions.

City planner James Caterette presented the staff report, describing the roughly 12.3-acre parcel in the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and the applicant’s plan to reconstruct the north parking area from gravel to a paved surface. "The parking requirements are all complied with under the UDO," Caterette said, and staff recommended the commission accept the proposed findings and approve the plan with conditions that include standard erosion-control measures, addressing outstanding routing comments, and payment of a special-assessment fee for a new sanitary tap.

Caterette said the phase-one work focuses on the parking lot and façade updates; the plan shows 154 parking spaces, including six ADA spaces and two bus-only spaces, landscaping along the building and parking perimeter, islands to direct traffic flow, and a future west-side building addition as a phase two item. He noted the existing building was constructed in 2001 and ownership transferred in November 2025. Utility work for the addition will require a new sanitary tap to a line that was originally installed and paid for by an adjacent owner, which triggers a temporary special assessment the owners will need to pay.

Commissioners and staff discussed stormwater. Caterette said the site contains two ponds that will be modified — a smaller west pond to accommodate the addition and a larger east detention pond that will be cleaned up and receive parking-lot runoff. "The outlets are not changing," Caterette said, and he told the commission the county Drainage Board reviewed and approved the stormwater plan on May 7.

Justin Hoffman, the project civil engineer with Brooks Construction, told the commission he attended the Drainage Board meeting and that the design increases on-site storage so the amount of water leaving the property will not increase. "We're not making a bad situation worse. We're just kind of keeping it status quo as far as that's concerned," Hoffman said. A commissioner asked whether adjoining property owners were satisfied; Hoffman said he did not know if they attended the Drainage Board meeting but that concerns had been voiced and that owners had discussed additional options.

With no public speakers during the hearing, the commission moved to adopt the five findings of fact required for approval, then moved and seconded a motion to approve PC Development Plan 2026-002 subject to the five staff conditions. The motion passed by voice vote; the transcript records multiple "I" affirmations and one recorded opposition but does not list a roll-call tally by name. The chair closed the item and wished the applicant luck.

Next steps specified by staff include addressing routing comments and obtaining sign-offs, installing erosion-control measures before site work begins, paying the special-assessment tap fee, and completing required plan revisions prior to the building-permit process and the certificate of occupancy for any future addition.