AUBURN — At the tail end of a 90-minute public meeting Tuesday at Walton Elementary School, city Councilor Dana Staples said the most difficult aspect of zoning is that you can never make it perfect.

He said the city’s effort to eventually rezone large sections of residential areas stems from a goal of bringing the most properties into conformance with their zone as possible. Previous zoning has made it difficult for some people to make the most simple of changes, he said, like even building a porch.

However, the push to modernize zoning with what’s known as form-based code, with the potential for in-fill development, higher densities and commercial uses, has many residents fearful. Roughly 50 people listened to Staples and Mayor Jason Levesque on Tuesday during the first of two community conversations on the topic.

Local tensions from a petition effort aside, the conversation mirrored debates happening in many other American communities in response to a national push to rethink zoning in order to address housing affordability.

Levesque on Tuesday called Auburn “the canary in the coal mine” for the rest of the state as municipalities begin preparing for LD 2003, legislation passed this year intended to combat the housing shortage. He believes Auburn is ahead of the game, and that the zoning changes proposed will help address some of the more “troubling” aspects of the bill, like one that would allow affordable housing projects to more than double the allowed density in certain areas.

“This is where everybody is going,” he said, referring to other municipalities and states. “Change is hard.”

Residents said they agreed with the city’s goals of giving people more autonomy with their properties, but said other aspects of the proposed zoning, like higher densities and commercial uses creeping into quiet, residential neighborhoods are concerning.

The two meetings this week come after a petition effort successfully paused the rezoning of the residential area surrounding Court Street. The City Council is expected to take up the topic again next week, this time to possibly approve an amended form of zoning for the area that would replace it.

Questions from the audience centered on the process, from the city’s efforts to reform zoning to the recourse residents might have to voice concerns or be involved in development decisions.

A group of residents spearheading the petition effort to overturn the zoning, dubbed Citizens for Sensible Growth, argue the council should send the issue to voters either way.

Several of its members were on hand Tuesday, leading to a few testy exchanges with Levesque.

Jeff Harmon read a statement from the group, which argued that the city should conduct an expanded process that would result in more granular changes to neighborhoods based on their different characters.

“We are opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach to applying a single residential zoning code to large areas of the city that have diverse neighborhoods,” he said.

“It would be wise to put to referendum, instead of seven people on the council,” another resident said.

Some people said they simply want a better sense of what some of the changes might look like.

Beckie Conrad said people are concerned because “their space is special to them.” She’s concerned for in-fill development and what it could look like in comparison to the character of existing homes.

“I think people are concerned that what might come will degrade the neighborhood,” she said.

Councilor Ryan Hawes responded to public questions by asking residents to propose solutions to elected officials.

“All I’ve heard is that it’s wrong,” he said. “But I never hear a solution.”

Hawes said when he first reviewed the zoning proposed for the areas, called T-4.2, “it didn’t sit well with me.” So he said the changes made in the proposed T-4.2B zoning, which eliminates certain commercial uses, were a compromise.

Harmon argued that the ordinance created to replace T-4.2 was created without any public input.

Other questions centered on traffic and other issues that residents said should be addressed before new development is approved.

Levesque argued the case for the new zoning, which he said has been in place in the Walton School neighborhood since 2021.

He said permits from staff show that since the zone change went into effect in the Court Street neighborhood this spring, homeowners have built decks, exterior stairs and garages. Most wasn’t allowed in the previous zoning, he said.

He said in the areas it’s already been used, there’s been building renovations and a former nursing home became 10 apartments.

“A lot of our worst fears didn’t come to pass,” he said.

Some attendees questioned whether the Comprehensive Plan, which has been used as the basis of the city’s zoning reform efforts, has been approved by the state.

Levesque said that while it hasn’t been formally approved yet, he expects it will be given the state’s overall alignment with much of what Auburn is looking to do.

The statement from Harmon said the petition signed by more than 2,000 residents has made it clear “that the public wants a process where they can engage in the planning process with the Planning Board to find solutions that support growth while addressing neighborhood concerns.”

While the discussion was meant to focus on the new types of zoning under consideration, it also delved into concerns surrounding the lake and the earlier rezoning of land off Gracelawn Road.

Mike Blais, former owner of Blais Flower Shop in Lewiston, said he agrees with the city’s approach to growing its population. He said other Maine communities have boomed while Lewiston-Auburn has remained the same.

Levesque said that’s begun to change in the past two years.

Blais said he came Tuesday to advocate for the lake, as did Bruce Rioux, who said the city should look outside existing residential neighborhoods and land along the watershed, and instead take advantage of Auburn’s vast land mass and unused buildings.

Levesque said the city has looked into those options as well, but that most of what was referenced are buildings or land owned by individuals not interested in selling. He also said the city already attempted to expand the potential for new housing into more rural areas and was told that housing should be placed closer to the downtown, where there are services.

“So here we are,” he said.

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