Dive Brief:

• City officials in Rock Hill, SC, have placed a moratorium on multifamily construction for the next nine months.

• The moratorium applies to new starts on apartments, condos, and townhomes. Senior housing developments, downtown buildings, and complexes whose plans have already been approved by the city are exempt.

• Officials said a flurry of apartment construction over the past year has strained city resources, including public services and infrastructure. Government leaders are reviewing construction rules and expect to issue procedures to monitor future multifamily development.

Dive Insight:

Rock Hill isn’t the first city to shut builders down as the housing recovery brings the noise, debris, and dust of construction into neighborhoods. Minneapolis shut down homebuilding in a handful of its southwest neighborhoods last spring after a spate of tear-downs angered residents and oversized new homes began towering over the smaller ones next door.

That moratorium lasted only a month, however, as more than 1,000 residents and builders—including homeowners in the affected neighborhoods, objected to the government’s edict. In lifting it, city officials agreed to issue building and demolition permits to construction firms that agreed to institute noise abatement measures and address other complaints.