Auburn to continue discussion on vacant commercial buildings

The Auburn City Council continued discussions June 9 on a proposed ordinance and fee to fill vacant commercial buildings in Old Town and Downtown. The ordinance was introduced on Jan. 13 as a way to combat structural blight of vacant buildings, so as not to detract from aesthetic appeal, depress property values or discourage economic development. Jonathan Wright, community and economic development director for the city, explained the ordinance would be complaint-driven and require property owners to register their property is vacant after a certain time frame, paying a quarterly fee, reporting property conditions for inspections and making any necessary repairs/renovations to fix any structural issues. During the June 9 meeting, Wright confirmed the issue is not solely based on buildings being vacant. "It's not really a vacant building problem because it's a vacant building problem, but it's not-an-available vacant building problem," he told the council. "Many of the vacancies that we have are not currently available for rent, not currently available for sale or not currently in a state of construction or reconstruction by the property owners or a potential tenant. They just simply sit there." Wright confirmed some changes were made to the ordinance since the January discussion, including the 30-day vacancy provision to 90 days for a building to be vacant, monthly inspections instead occurring quarterly and the addition of a definition of what ready for occupancy means. Wright confirmed under the ordinance buildings that are registered and in good condition would be in compliance, whereas registered buildings with things to work on, like broken windows, would not be in compliance. The council received two comments from property owners who noted finding quality tenants and rehabbing spaces takes longer than 30 or 90 days. Gary Bell, attorney for the city of Auburn, confirmed the ordinance does not require properties to be rented within 90 days if owners are actively trying to lease the space. "There are a few purposes to the ordinance but one of them is to identify, make sure buildings are secure, stop unlawful entry, blight, other things," Bell explained. "So it's about encouraging rental but it's also about all of the other effects that flow from a vacant building." During the council's discussion, Councilmember Alice Dowdin Calvillo noted she felt the 90-day period was too short and instead proposed six months (180 days). Vice Mayor Kelley Davis confirmed she would support six months for the initial time frame with quarterly check-ins thereafter. "I would love to see more effort put into having people come in but also finding good tenants, so I am on board with that," Davis said. Auburn City Manager Sean Rabé explained extending the initial time frame out could leave properties vacant for a longer period as they go through this process. "I would say keep it at 90 days knowing that there's a possibility if you increase the time to six months, then you're going to be potentially looking at a whole year with, which is exactly what we're not trying to do," Rabé said. After a lengthy discussion surrounding the time frame and applicable fees, the council continued the item to the council's next meeting. No action was taken. A public hearing for the ordinance is scheduled as part of the council's June 23 agenda. The public is invited to attend at the City Hall Council Chambers, 1225 Lincoln Way, or online at youtube.com/channel/UCmZkDGdt8ce1ckCRgcX-15A/live. The agenda can be found at auburn.ca.gov/129/Agendas-Minutes.