Milton’s City Council voted Monday to extend a moratorium on accepting new applications to subdivide land on certain AG-1 zoned lots.

The pause approved at the Special Called Meeting is intended to be brief and is tied to a potential procedural change now under consideration. 

How to handle new subdivision plats on lots less than three acres was the focus of the February 9 meeting. City staff shared five-year trend data on average lot size, building footprint, and lot coverage, along with information on inquiries and variance requests seeking exceptions to City Code limits.

Deputy Community Development Director Tracie Wildes described a trend of larger homes and more amenities being built on essentially the same-sized lots. She also explained the difference between the minor and major plat processes. Both apply to similar regulations, but the timing of reviews differs. Major plats typically receive more thorough review earlier, often before lots are sold. Minor plats move faster up front, with more issues commonly identified later during permitting, sometimes after lots have already been sold. Currently, proposals to subdivide land into lots of less than three acres, involving one to three lots, go through the minor plat process.

Mayor Peyton Jamison, Councilmembers, and City staff discussed two parallel tracks that could move on different timelines. One track involves potential updates to AG-1 standards for newly created lots of less than three acres, focusing on lot coverage, building footprints, buffers, and side setbacks. Council emphasized this will take time and require meaningful public input. The other track is procedural, focusing on whether new qualified subdivision plats of three lots or fewer should be required to follow the more deliberate major plat process or a similar process. 

City staff presented an ambitious timeline for the procedural change, with April 13 as a target date for a Council vote, following required public meetings. During the discussion, Angela Davis noted that Council can end a moratorium at any time before its scheduled expiration.

Ultimately, Council approved a 120-day moratorium on accepting new applications, with the expressed goal of using as little of that time as possible while the public process moves forward.

The Council’s next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 18.