Milton halts new rezonings.

Will use time to seek rule improvements.

by Jonathan Copsey / The Milton Herald

MILTON, Ga. – In an effort to stem the tide of housing developments, the Milton City Council passed an emergency moratorium on rezoning applications across multiple residential districts in the city.

In a unanimous vote Jan. 6, council chose to bar the acceptance of applications for rezonings to the Community Unit Plan (CUP), Neighborhood Unit Plan (NUP), Transitional Zone (TR) and single-family dwelling (R-2 and R-2A) classifications.

City Attorney Ken Jarrard said the "short-term" moratorium would be for at least 30 days with the possibility of extension. It will not affect developments that are already approved or underway, nor would it affect developments that do not require rezoning.

2014 will see more than 900 additional homes built in Milton.

"In the past few months, we have seen a number of rezoning applications, especially to the CUP zone, because residential developers are looking for ways to decrease the amount of setback restrictions they would traditionally face when building in Milton," said Kathleen Field, community development director for the city of Milton. "By enacting this moratorium, we can look at modifying our current zoning laws to protect the rural viewshed and feel of our community."

The moratorium is just one of many options Milton is exploring to balance the city's sudden housing boom with resident concerns, said Mayor Joe Lockwood.

"The important thing to realize in all this is that we, as a city council, remain committed to protecting our city from unchecked development," said Lockwood. "We're actively taking steps to build a proper balance of property rights and community desires."

"This is the first step we are looking at to deal with the development situation that Milton is faced with now," he said.