Ephraim approves 6-month moratorium on multifamily development

EPHRAIM—The Ephraim City Council has approved a temporary six-month moratorium on most new multifamily and some single-family development as officials work to overhaul development regulations they say no longer fit trends in the city. The ordinance passed unanimously at the regular city council meeting on July 1.

The ordinance was presented by City Manager Katie Witt and City Planner Ephraim City Planner Megan Spurling. 

An explanatory document accompanying the moratorium ordinance said continued growth has increased demands on water supplies, infrastructure and the city’s development review process, prompting a comprehensive review of development regulations.

During the moratorium, Witt said, the city wanted to get lots of input from developers, the planning commission, the city council and residents. An “open house” was held Tuesday after press time. A text message was sent to all residents who have registered to receive texts. A large crowd was expected.  

During the review, construction of multifamily developments in the R1B, R2, R3 and R4 zones will be paused. The moratorium will remain in effect for up to 180 days, although Mayor Chris Larsen said the city hopes to complete the revisions and lift the restrictions before that deadline.

“The six months is so the city can get our ducks in a row and get the code (revised) and then when people come after that, then they’ll have to meet those requirements,” Larsen said.

“We want developments that align more with the character and vision of long-term Ephraim, and developments that we (can) feel really proud of,” Spurling said.

Projects that received approval before the moratorium took effect will be allowed to continue or begin construction. However, projects that had not been formally submitted before July 1 will not be eligible to move forward until the moratorium is lifted and they comply with any updated regulations.

“This is the only fair way that we could do it,” Witt said. “We chose a date and didn’t give anybody a heads up.”

City officials said the text of the proposed ordinance was withheld from public release until the July 1 council agenda was published because the city wanted to avoid a surge of last-minute development applications before the moratorium could be considered.

Officials emphasized that the moratorium is intended to give the city time to strengthen its development standards rather than penalize developers.

“We’re just saying that we want the chance to be able to slowly dedicate some time to our code and adjust things without also having to process a bunch more at the same time,” Spurling said.

The moratorium took effect immediately upon its adoption by the council. According to Witt, the city will work to complete the code revisions as quickly as practical so the restrictions can be lifted once the changes have been implemented.