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Lenoir City council extends one-year moratorium on multifamily housing; amendment to include duplexes fails
Summary
The council approved a one-year extension of a moratorium on apartments and multifamily housing on first reading. A proposed amendment to add duplexes to the moratorium failed in a tied vote after debate over state definitions and zoning authority.
Lenoir City council voted on first reading to extend a one-year moratorium on construction of apartments and other multifamily housing within city limits, a measure the council’s supporters said will give staff time to complete a new comprehensive land-use plan.
The moratorium ordinance will replace the current temporary ban and was presented as a one-year extension; a council member noted the existing moratorium was set to expire in June. City staff and the council said the extension is intended to pause new multifamily construction while the land-use plan is drafted and public engagement occurs.
The meeting turned contentious when Council Member (identified in the transcript as speaker 13) moved to amend the ordinance to explicitly include duplexes — 2-family dwellings — in addition to apartments and multifamily housing. The council member argued that recent clustered duplex development had created eyesores and parking shortfalls and said, “I would move to amend this ordinance to include duplexes, in section 1 in addition to the multifamily housing and apartments.”
City staff and other council members pushed back that duplexes are treated differently under state and building codes. A staff speaker noted that by state definition a duplex may be classified as a one- or two-family dwelling rather than multifamily and that adding duplexes would require carefully drafted language and legal review. Council Member Johnson told colleagues he favored removing exemptions so there would be no ambiguous carve-outs, saying, “deleting all the exceptions just cuts off any kind of talk about it.” He also cautioned against creating circumstances that might invite litigation: “We have enough litigation around here. We don't need to have any more.”
The amendment to include duplexes was put to a roll-call-style vote and ended in a tie (three recorded votes in favor and three opposed); the motion failed for lack of a majority. Council then voted on the moratorium as drafted; the ordinance passed on first reading and will return to the council for further consideration on Feb. 23.
Council members said staff will prepare more precise language if future changes are proposed and that the moratorium provides time for the upcoming land-use update process.
