Council asks staff to draft moratorium on standalone apartment projects while plan is revised

City planning staff briefed council members on a possible temporary moratorium on new standalone multifamily apartment projects and the council gave staff direction to draft an ordinance reflecting guidance heard at the study session.

Tommy Paradise, Director of Planning and Development, reviewed case law and examples from other municipalities (Clemson, Port Royal, Mount Pleasant) in which local governments adopted time‑limited moratoria to allow code and plan revisions. Paradise said the moratorium tool is intended to “pause” approvals so staff and the council can study impacts and implement changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.

Parcels and existing pipeline: Paradise said the city currently has 63 projects in the pipeline — including 11 apartment projects totaling roughly 2,883 units, 18 single‑family attached projects (about 1,100 units), and 16 single‑family detached projects (about 12,773 units) — and that roughly one‑third of…