In February, a six-month moratorium was put in place for the University Service East District of Auburn. During this time, city planning did research to decide what to do once the moratorium ended.
On July 27, city planning met with City Council to present their recommendations on the matter. The moratorium will also be discussed at the next City Council meeting, Aug. 4.
City planning recommended that the moratorium be extended for seven months.
Forrest Cotten, director of planning for the city of Auburn, showed other college towns such as Oxford, Mississippi, and Clemson, South Carolina, as an example.
“We really tried to focus in on colleges that have a fairly similar geographic layout, close proximity to campus, very close (downtown) relationship,” Cotten said.
Cotten said he found there was not a lot of consistency between the towns, but Auburn was in the middle of the statistics.
“The college town experience is very unique so we find more often than not the issues that the college towns are experiencing are very much akin to ours,” Cotten said.
Cotten has been working on the report since the moratorium first began in February.
“The report, some of it came down to the wire … we did start early,” Cotten said.
He said some parts came together at the last minute.
The meeting gave the City Council members a chance to familiarize themselves with the suggestions before the City Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4.
“It doesn’t mean they have to approve it, it doesn’t mean that they have to act on it that night, but I believe they will be able to act on it if they choose,” Cotten said.
Recommendations are likely to change as details of the matter are discussed.
There was not a formal time for citizens to ask questions, but they will be able to at the City Council meeting.
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