Auburn, AL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Density Bonus Law (2026)

Under Zoning Ordinance Section 504.01(E), the City of Auburn offers development incentives to PDD applicants who make a written request to the approving authority. The incentive is described as "the granting by the approving authority of additional development capacity in exchange for a public benefit or amenity," and the code notes the allocation of incentives is decided case-by-case because "the need for incentives will vary for different planned developments." Among the listed incentives are a straight "Density Bonus: 10% increase in base zone density" and a separate "Density Bonus: 20% increase in base zone density," the latter marked with an asterisk tying it to a predetermined exchange.

The code pairs each incentive with a required exchange: developers can trade for the bonus by providing open space improvements (pedestrian paths, bike trails, and street lighting approved by the Planning Director and Parks and Recreation Director), by building housing that qualifies as elderly housing or low- and moderate-income housing under federal guidelines (the specific exchange tied to the 20% bonus), by adding a 20-foot vegetated buffer along the development perimeter, by increasing open space 25% beyond the minimum requirement (which can be offered twice, i.e., stacked to a 50% increase, for two incentives), or by dedicating a minimum of five acres of usable park and recreation space.

A PDD must first meet the base eligibility threshold of a minimum 10-acre tract under unified ownership before any incentive applies, and the maximum gross density ceiling for the bonus is still capped by the underlying base district figures, with the Limited Development District (LDD) figures serving as the floor standard in all cases.