Lafayette OKs 4-month curb on homebuilding

LAFAYETTE – The Lafayette City Council on Monday approved a four-month moratorium on the issuance of residential construction permits so city planners can determine how best to comply with changes to the city’s growth plan that were approved by voters in November.

The amendment to the City Charter lifted a provision that limited Lafayette to issuing 200 new building permits per year for the next six years, which is when the city would meet its limit of 1,200 new dwelling units. The 1,200 figure is established in Lafayette’s growth-management plan.

Developments in Lafayette that already are under construction and have received prior allocations of building permits, such as Coal Creek Village, are not affected by the changes to the charter, community development director Phillip Patterson said.

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The measure approved by voters gives Lafayette greater flexibility in how it issues building permits, which will better allow it to manage growth in a way that reflects the market for new construction, Patterson said.

The moratorium will give the staff the chance to create a policy for issuing the permits, he said.

The Lafayette City Council has to approve the number of permits that can be issued each year. On Monday it approved a measure that sets the 2013 cap at zero and the 2014 cap at 200. City planners do not expect new developments to be approved and started in 2013, but the cap can be raised by the council, according to a staff memorandum.