Auburn Planning Commission denies permits for church, short-term rental

Citing lack of appropriate placement for the neighborhoods, two projects were rejected by members of the Auburn Planning Commission this week. The first project was a request for a use permit for a church to operate at 900 High Street, the old Bank of America building, in Downtown Auburn. Community and Economic Development Director Jonathan Wright said the applicant, High Street Church, asked for permission to operate the church in the area which is zoned for commercial business. The request described the building would be used by church members for typical activities: Bible studies, prayer meetings, potlucks, weddings, funeral services and its monthly participation in The Gathering Inn program, which obligates the church to host up to 30 homeless individuals for a 24-hour period once a month. Matt Dittemore, lead pastor of High Street Church, was on hand to represent the applicants. "TGI's goal is a stop-gap program to end homelessness," Dittemore said when asked to expand about the TGI program on site. "We served with them for over the last 14 years. The guests arrive at 6:30 p.m. and they are bussed in and head back to the South Placer Emergency Shelter the next day. They are not there very long." Commissioner Steve Galyardt said serving the homeless concerned him. "It's inconsistent with the downtown business district to bring homeless in," he said. "Even if it's just for one day. I have strong concerns that this would become an attraction for homeless people throughout the month." Many questions were asked about The Gathering Inn service the church would provide. Dittemore said the program has strict screening, including drug and alcohol testing. "Our desire is really just to be a good neighbor," he said. "We are committed to supporting our community. At the end of the day, we love our city. We want to support the city of Auburn and our new neighbors around High Street to ensure we are a blessing to them." Other commissioners questioned whether the location of the church was appropriate, as the city is working on a form-based code process which may change the type of zoning in the area. Ultimately, the commission voted 4-1 to deny the permit. Commissioner Michael Lemberg did not support the motion to deny the permit. "I'm making the motion strictly because of the incompatibility of having a homeless shelter, whether it be one day or every day, in a business district of our town," Galyardt said. "I don't think that is consistent with the well-being of the businesses or the community or the residents." The Planning Commission also held a public hearing regarding a short-term rental permit for a residential property at 292 Poet Smith Drive. The property was purchased by Brett Lawson of BL Investments, Inc. in 2021, and he said at the Planning Commission meeting he had put money into the property to improve it. Many residents in the surrounding neighborhoods showed up to share their concerns with a short-term Airbnb-type property in their neighborhood. The property in question is adjacent to Skyridge Elementary School. The Planning Commission does not typically address these types of properties. Wright said when the application for the permit was sent in, the city notified neighboring properties within 100 feet. Since all five neighboring residential properties opposed the permit, Wright said the applicant chose to take the next step and bring the issue to the Planning Commission. Wright said the city currently has 11 legal short-term rental properties operating, according to permit data. He also said there are a few that operate without city approval. According to the applicant, the property would be rented out for no fewer than three days at a time and they would use a vetting process to screen potential guests. Lawson, who was at the meeting, also stated he and his property manager live within 15 miles of the property. Many letters of opposition to the city cited public nuisance, noise, lowering of property value, exposure of the elementary school and potential undesirable tenants. "We didn't move here to live next to a motel," said Michael Prince, who lives next door to the property. "He has options and he's not exploring them diligently." Several local residents pointed out that Lawson's attempt to rent the property was listed well above the average price to rent in the area with a deposit of $6,000 for the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home. Lawson admitted he listed at a high price because his end goal was to have a short-term rental property. Ultimately, the Planning Commission passed a motion to deny the request, with one abstention (lived too close to the property) and one refusal. In a follow-up interview with the Auburn Journal, Galyardt said the applicants now have the opportunity to appeal to the city council. He said the church may re-apply for a use permit with changes to its application as well.