Auburn, AL Zoning Overlays & Bonuses: Downtown Design Guide (2026)

Section 507.02 of Auburn's Zoning Ordinance, Table 5-3, is the city's downtown design guide: it prescribes the development and design standards that apply specifically to the Urban Core (UC) District, the zoning district covering downtown Auburn. Structures must be set back no further than 10 feet from a designated corridor or primary street frontage, and structure height is capped at 75 feet measured from grade to the top of the roof, with an additional 4 to 6 feet allowed for a decorative cornice or parapet. Ground story height must be at least 18 feet for nonresidential uses and 15 feet for ground-story residential, and the maximum street-facing building length is 240 feet before requiring articulation in the roofline or façade. The table also regulates awnings (up to 85% of a building's street façade width, sloped no more than 45 degrees, capped at 5 feet in vertical height), parking lot screening, and balcony encroachments into the right-of-way.

Because these downtown standards layer on top of every other Zoning Ordinance requirement, Section 507.02 builds in a waiver path: an applicant who cannot meet a standard must request a waiver reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission. In weighing that request, the Planning Commission may refer the proposed deviation to the Downtown Design and Review Committee for evaluation before deciding. The ordinance also directs applicants to meet early with Planning staff and consult the separate Downtown Design Guidelines document for additional recommendations, though those guidelines are advisory while Table 5-3's numeric standards are mandatory unless waived.