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Trustees clash with planners over water-district yards near downtown; motion to make them industrial fails
Summary
A trustee urged reclassification of Water & Sewer District parcels near Court and South Goff Street to industrial to permit larger garages and equipment storage; opponents warned heavy industrial use would undercut downtown redevelopment. The motion to reclassify failed after debate over buffering and long-term economic impacts.
Bruce, a trustee of the Auburn Water District, told the committee the district has equipment stored across multiple parcels near Court and South Goff Street and said moving the operations to an industrial park would be much more expensive. "The consultant came up with a price tag that was about $18,000,000 more to relocate the entire operation out to the industrial park," he said, adding the change could save ratepayers about "$1,000,000 a year," according to his estimate.
Opposing members argued that placing heavy industrial functions and large trucks adjacent to the city's major downtown intersection would limit future downtown redevelopment and harm long-term economic prospects. Trustee and committee member Jeff Harmon noted the water-district operations are currently a nonconforming use and said industrial designation would require buffering and could better control future impacts, while others said those buffering rules still leave downtown redevelopment at risk. After debate and a roll-call-style count, the motion to change the downtown parcels to industrial failed.
