Auburn Planning Commission Recommends Short Term Rental Ordinance for Central Business District - June 17, 2025
Auburn Planning Commission Meeting Summary – June 17, 2025
The Auburn Planning Commission held a public hearing on June 17, 2025, to consider an ordinance amending the Auburn Municipal Code to allow short-term rentals in the Central Business District (C-2) and to align with the City’s Transient Occupancy Tax law. After discussion, the Commission voted to recommend the ordinance to the City Council for adoption.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the public hearing.
Discussion Items
- Ordinance Amendment (Item III-A): Staff presented a proposed ordinance to add short-term rentals as a permitted use in the C-2 district, amend the notification requirement to remove adjacent property owner notification for C-2, and update the code to reference the City’s Transient Occupancy Tax law. Staff argued that the change would activate underutilized upper-story spaces, support local businesses, and align with traveler preferences for unique lodging in walkable downtown areas. The proposed amendment was found exempt from CEQA under Section 15061(b)(3) (general rule) or alternatively Section 15305 (minor alterations in land use limitations).
- Commissioner Discussion: Commissioners discussed the removal of the 100-foot neighbor notification requirement in C-2, noting that hotels and motels are already permitted by right there and that short-term rentals would have less intensity. Some commissioners inquired about parking requirements and the distinction between short-term rentals and hotels. Staff clarified that a parking plan would still be required. The commission also reviewed the timeline for City Council consideration, with a first reading tentatively scheduled for June 26 or July 14, 2025, and a special meeting on July 26 to finalize the package.
Key Outcomes
- Recommendation to City Council: The Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt the proposed ordinance as presented. The motion carried without a recorded dissent. The recommendation includes the code amendments and CEQA exemption findings.
- Next Steps: The ordinance will proceed to the Auburn City Council for a public hearing and two readings. Staff indicated the first reading could occur as early as June 26, 2025.
Note: The agenda indicates the meeting was on June 17, 2025; the raw transcript is partially unintelligible but confirms the recommendation.
Meeting Transcript
And this one has to be publicly trying to try trying to central district. We have on the agenda this time. So it's public. Okay. So I'm not going to mention this little fundamental section with the reason for a subdivision, chapter 15 of the five use of the municipality becoming short term letters distributed subdivision. And I was trying to think about the standard as a report since chapter is something on the screen. Unfortunately, you can listen to me. Um I can't be on the back there. So it's a legislative process. So I mean that we're gonna go back to the residential zones. So that's a two-16, you know, scattered. Um the short term with a revision that means the second, so you can use the advisor essentially basically the use uh these economic issues and how we can do uh short conventionals and the tax um uh the HD for tax collection company um um something count as listed here and all the system for the permissions because it's required my opportunity R1 zone. Um at least the system for that. So uh next yeah, that's quick. These things are actually a common C2's feasibility study to try to get transient authoritative on the interesting name. So we have everything for active transit or me or depends. Um these districts chat that helps you know how to create the synergy for it. And some people crap. So it's the means that we have actually operating, and we haven't done it without complaint, with choose. Okay, because I think nothing um charter nodes. I can leave the popular from being analyzed. Um really need to be on the tip of the PG on that top store that would have it was looking at it. Uh and there's actually a number of spots on there that you know, and it's if you look at that subsidized, you don't really cost because we're gonna put on the side um that's what makes these things pass a little bit better. So next um is it the chart levels into the C2 zone? It's not true process, it's don't require permit. It's not a short process. When we have these things in communities with the houses are you know, not starting for it. I'm not making it with that because you know you can click on one place, and this thing happens with us. You may not be too happy if you didn't know what's happening. But see two commercial zone, which is old town and downtown, there's a map in there. It's not the way that time's really down, but it's the C2 and C3 zones. Um we can get the hotel, I mean the common node, and that's similar to the moment and we're gonna go with the interior into a hotel. There's nothing unless they're going to reduce something to the second. So we can do it from the stripes and that's not very we would just be it's not super like you know, or Tony Short Randall, we can just bring the stuff to get them as part of their use. Um it's not that it's not increasing the amount of property, it's just application use because these are residential use that's gonna be added in there. So if you kind of change the status of the outfits there, um zone or just you know, rental the uh houses next one an issue where the trailer to tax we have really shorts have something but uh yeah, okay. Well, legislative minutes are the first plants it's um you have the first branch and for the initial public hearing, just the public has an opportunity to speak um and we have those things to make that crafted um there we go to the state of the each and so forth, and then it has another big second chance basically to give up on the sharing and make sure that uh compared to earlier. So you have any recommendation to the city council and review unit for recommendation definitely approved a lot of work, it's always there. That's it, it's pretty sure. We got to this point. Um there have it again that the um that was kind of a really good thing for the chance to look at it. Um those things that need to have those feeders in there and maybe have people having spending spend time and spending money and just adds to that the risk and clear something is not too hard for time, especially fell apart, something that can be used both as housing and for the distance in the screen status with the control options or it's sure. And for the disuse this kind of status with the time. So it's true. So remember because this one is like the slide conversions. Exactly. So we've got to have that standards of the line that's colour as noise is concerned. The ultimate uh these containers, all those things are still at least the planet to these because again if you start notifying people in this stable under our current code. So make that kind of assumption though. That's a bit difficult because we can make a comment for public comment.
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