As the Auburn Downtown Master Plan is nearing completion, Auburn residents should expect to see renovations before the end of summer.
Citizens gave their input over a course of meetings starting last August and ending March 11. The Auburn Planning Department is working on including input from the general public, business owners and the University into a final plan to implement in downtown Auburn.
Mayor Bill Ham and the Auburn City Council will discuss the plan in April, take it to a public hearing in May and finally put it to a council vote in June, according to Forrest Cotten, director of the Auburn Planning Department.
The master plan will serve as a general guide to the growth of downtown. It will include allowing business growth by setting aside more areas for commercial use through zoning code changes.
Alleyway renovations and streetscape improvements, such as planting new trees and making the sidewalks and streets more pedestrian and biker friendly are also included in the new plan.
The majority of these improvements will be located in the Urban Core District.
The Urban Core is intended to be the retail, financial, service, historical and religious districts of Auburn.
"Right now, the zoning outside the Urban Core proper wouldn't allow downtown to grow in a way that matches the existing Urban Core," said Justin Steinmann, principal planner with the Auburn Planning Department. "A lot of our work on the regulatory side will be trying to adjust the zoning code to encourage the type of development that we want to see."
The plan proposes expanding the Urban Core approximately 40 acres, which is around the same size as 40 football fields, to the east and the south.
The renovations will be funded by the city's general fund.
Auburn City Council members will decide how much money from the general fund to put toward capital projects.
According to Steinmann, the funding availability for the Auburn Downtown Master Plan varies depending on other expenses that draw from the master fund, such as road re-pavement and new vehicle purchases.
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