AUBURN — The number of vacant and abandoned buildings across the city increased last year, from 66 in May to 131 this month.

“Most of them are not dangerous, and it’s not illegal,” Planning Director Eric Cousens said. “As long as they can be maintained and monitored so they can be kept secure, they should not be a problem.”

The city is tracking 131 vacant properties across the city, according to a list released Monday. Of that, 86 are single-family homes and 20 are duplexes. Eight are multifamily apartments with between four and seven units. Five properties are listed as nonresidential — industrial or commercial properties or warehouses.

“Auburn has a preponderance of single-family homes, compared to other cities,” City Manager Clinton Deschene said. “That’s the way we grew as a community. I would expect Auburn to have more single-family issues when this happens.”

The list is generated from city records of foreclosures, properties that appear vacant and neighbor complaints. The properties are considered to be abandoned by their owners.

Cousens said it’s a concern for the city, and staff is devoting a fair amount of time monitoring properties on the list.

“That’s basically what we are doing with the buildings that become problems, working with police and fire and neighbors to keep an eye on those properties,” Cousens said.

It’s a marked increase compared to May 2013, when the city first released the list. In May, city staff was tracking 32 single-family homes, 10 duplexes, 14 large multifamily dwellings and three nonresidential properties.

Neither Deschene nor Cousens knew what was behind the increase.

“Sometimes we are a bit slower to feel the impacts of things that occur around the country,” Deschene said. “Some of it, too, may be bank decisions. Maine was not hit as hard as some other states during the recession and the banks probably worked more in the harder-hit places. Now, with Maine’s smaller population, we may be finally seeing that impact.”

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Vacant properties tracked by Auburn
January 2014

Single-family homes: 86
Duplexes: 20
Three-unit buildings: 12
Four-unit buildings: 5
Five-unit buildings: 1
Six-unit buildings: 1
Seven-unit buildings: 1
Nonresidential buildings: 5

Source: City of Auburn