The City Council continued to talk about the Downtown Master Plan, building height and other issues involving the future of downtown Auburn.
Ward 8 councilman Tommy Dawson expressed his deep concern with the expected 75-foot building planned to be built on Gay Street.
Dawson said he did not want a 75-foot building downtown, and he believes this will cause problems in the community.
Dawson said he believes 75-foot buildings are needed in certain areas, but that 60-foot buildings downtown would be more appropriate.
"I think fair is fair, and there shouldn't be any [75-foot buildings] in the immediate downtown area," Dawson said.
City Manager Charles M. Duggan, Jr. said a city-wide moratorium would be easier to enforce than a spot moratorium because the smaller the land the more defense is needed to back the moratorium up.
Linda Dean, Auburn resident, brought up a new project which will include a fast food restaurant and a multi-purpose storage unit downtown.
Dean said she is opposed to this, and the space should instead be filled with something more aesthetically pleasing.
Dean also said the word used to describe new developments has been "walkable," but that a drive-thru and a storage unit does not support this.
"Anyone who thinks fast food drive-thrus don't generate traffic should observe the traffic problems at the Chick-fil-A on West Magnolia," Dean said.
Ward 5 councilwoman Lynda Tremaine said keeping Auburn's small-town feel is not going against development, and the citizens who do not support taller buildings are just as willing to expand the core as others.
"There is not one citizen who does not want downtown to thrive," Tremaine said.
In other City Council news:
- Ryley Scales spoke on behalf of the SGA during Auburn University Communications. Scales said there was a threat of a suspicious subject on campus in Lowder Hall today, but the subject was unarmed and was only wearing a body brace.
Scales also said the homecoming weekend was a success, and she was impressed with how well the homecoming game and concert went.
"I don't think we had another Kesha incident," Scales said.
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