Temple City : Building Ban Revised

The City Council took a three-part approach to slow growth Tuesday, letting the current building moratorium die, starting another, and beginning the process of creating an ordinance to limit density on lots zoned for apartments and condominiums.

The council voted 3 to 2 to continue the moratorium limiting the number of units on multiunit lots. But because Mayor Thomas Breazeal and Councilman Patrick Froehle voted against it, the measure failed to receive the required four-fifths vote.

Meanwhile, Breazeal proposed a new 45-day moratorium limiting the size of new buildings. The measure, passed unanimously, will limit a building’s second floor to 75% of the area of its first floor, require second floors to be set back an additional 15 feet from the property line, increase the amount of landscaping, and require all units facing streets to have a “front” rather than “side” appearance.

Although the three-member majority could not continue the earlier moratorium, there were enough votes to begin drafting a lower-density ordinance. On the same split vote, the council sent a list of options to the planning commission as the basis for a new ordinance.