Auburn Planning Board Advances MBTA Zoning Fix, Approves Produce Market

AUBURN -- September 23, 2025, Auburn Planning Board unanimously advanced two zoning bylaw changes toward the October 28 town meeting, including a legally mandated MBTA Communities compliance amendment. The first change, to sections 3.8 and 3.9, strips special permit requirements from low-impact uses such as farmers markets, EV charging stations, and Christmas tree lots, town planner Adam noted one farmers market applicant paid $700 and lost a month of business under the current rules. The second amendment adds multifamily housing as a distinct permitted use in the RA district, removes the existing 12-unit-per-building cap, and exempts apartments from special permits in aquifer and flood plain overlay districts while preserving underlying bylaw requirements; town counsel confirmed the article qualifies for a reduced majority vote at town meeting rather than a two-thirds threshold. The board also sent a commercial flex-space modification at 282 Southbridge Street to peer review over soil stability and fire-truck access concerns, approved a produce market at 284 South Bridge Street, and told Whitman Bailey Drive residents their private road falls well short of town standards for public acceptance.