Auburn seeks community input on housing and safety plans

The city of Auburn is refreshing its housing and safety portions of their General Plan this year and is seeking the community's feedback and assistance. The city is scheduled to host the Housing and Safety Element Update Community Workshop on Monday, March 2, at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers. The event will address the future housing needs of the city and help update the city's safety plan. Housing and safety are two of eight state-mandated elements of the city's General Plan, which establishes goals, policies and objectives to guide the development in Auburn. Community input will be used in developing the updates, policies and programs for both documents, said Auburn Senior Planner Tonya Ward. "We are hoping the public feedback will result in policy changes," Ward said. "A lot of times, we get ideas from the public asking questions. That is why it is so important to get all the stakeholders together." Featured is a presentation from a representative from PlaceWorks, a consulting firm, about the update process, specific city needs and opportunities. Attendees will be able to share their insights on how the city can improve housing and safety for the future. All Placer County jurisdictions are required to update their housing plans every eight years to keep in compliance with state law. Auburn has until May 2021 to adopt its updated housing element. The updated housing element of the General Plan will have to meet new state laws and identify enough vacant land to meet the city's Regional Housing Needs Allocation set forth by the state and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Auburn is required to identify vacant land to accommodate 310 new housing units over the next eight years, including 109 units on sites zones for at least 20 units per acre. Ward said the city is in position to fulfill a portion of the housing requirement based on current and future approved projects but is eager to hear other ideas to create the added housing. "We will have a discussion around how do we guide development so we can accomplish these things," Ward said. The safety element update will serve as the city's comprehensive strategy to reduce short- and long-term potential for harm from various threats to community health and safety. This includes minimizing injury and direct harm to community members, reducing the risk of damage to buildings and community infrastructure, fostering a resilient local economy and natural ecosystem and keeping the city strong against any natural disaster or public safety risk. The city's safety element was last updated in 1993, and laws have changed in that time. Safety elements are now required to include more information about wildfire risks and how to improve wildfire safety and address the long-term and short-term threats of climate change. For more information about the meeting, email Ward at tward@auburn.ca.gov.