A revision to Auburn’s height ordinance will go before the City of Auburn’s Planning Commission on March 9.
Changes to the height ordinance were originally scheduled to be debated by the Planning Commission at their meeting on Feb. 9, but due to some citizen’s concerns over certain points, it was tabled for further revision.
According to City Manager Jim Buston, most of the changes address the wording of the ordinance and aren’t major.
“Some citizens felt that the language originally proposed for the Planning Commission was not strong enough,” Buston said. “Our planning folks went back and, based on the feedback they got, made some wording changes.”
Among the changes are clarifications of the term “habitable space,” which is defined in the ordinance as “a space in a building for living, sleeping, eating or cooking. Bathrooms, toilet rooms, closets, halls, storage or utility spaces and similar areas are not considered habitable spaces.”
Accessory rooftop structures like chimneys, flag poles, elevator enclosures and stairway enclosures will be able to exceed the height limit by no more than 12 feet, while parapet walls may only exceed the limit by 4 feet.
Ornamental or architectural features of a building, such as church steeples or clock towers, may exceed the building height limit by 25 percent of that limit.
Certain structural amenities used for recreation like an unenclosed pool or jogging track are not allowed to exceed the height requirements of the building’s respective zone.
To put this all into perspective, take an upcoming apartment complex like 191 College Street. It will be built on the corner of Glenn Avenue and College Street, which is on the dividing line of the Urban Core zone and the College Edge Overlay zone. The corresponding height limits of those zones are 75 feet tall and 65 feet tall, respectively.
According to Principal Planner Thomas Weintraut Jr., the developers behind 191 College Street requested a variance to the height regulations so that they might build a swimming pool on top of what would already meet the height limit.
“They have withdrawn that variance,” Weintraut said. “If they have a swimming pool that doesn’t exceed the maximum height of the zoning district they’re in then they could have that facility.”
In order for these changes to go into effect, they must be agreed upon by the Planning Commission at their meeting on March 9 and then go before the Auburn City Council to be approved.
The Planning Commission meeting on Thursday and the next City Council meeting will be open to the public.
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