SOUTH WEBER -- The City Council has declared a six-month moratorium on new subdivision development while city planners evaluate the infrastructure needs and master plan for their rapidly growing community.
The moratorium took effect on Jan. 11 and continues until July 11. It affects residential subdivisions only, not individual building lots, subdivisions already approved or even new commercial developments.City Manger Ron Chandler said the moratorium doesn't represent a crisis situation, but rather a pre-emptive attempt to do some careful planning for the future.
"Our infrastructure is good right now," he said. "But South Weber has a fast-growing population."
Chandler said the city's population is estimated at about 4,000. That's up about 30 percent in the past decade, and the city's growth rate is even higher -- at about 7 percent a year.
Depending on how the master plan and zoning provisions may be revised, South Weber's "build-out" population is estimated to be as high as 14,000 people, meaning the city may be only 29 percent full.
The City Council and Planning Commission are hoping to have some public hearing and public workshops in the coming months to receive more input on what the city's future should be. However, no dates for those meetings have been set yet.
"A couple of developers have expressed concern," Chandler said of the moratorium. "But nothing significant."
He said four or five subdivisions have already received at least preliminary building approval and will be not be affected by the moratorium.
The city wants to study its culinary water needs, sewer capacity and storm drainage problems, as well as ways to fund future expansion that will handle all the growth to come. Whether or not this will lead to higher taxes or impact fees is too early to tell, Chandler said.
In a way, he agrees South Weber is a victim of its own success. That's because it has become one of the most popular bedroom communities in the area, with a scenic view at the mouth of Weber Canyon.
"Growth is our No. 1 problem," he said.
The City Council also plans to look at more planned unit developments, ways to encourage more businesses in town and ways to lessen traffic impacts.
Layton declared a similar moratorium on its west side in the mid-1990s and is halting new subdivisions west of the railroad tracks until a new culinary water reservoir comes on line.