LAYTON -- Layton City’s mayor and council have enacted a resolution which will not grant building permits for apartments.
Mayor Bob Stevenson, who’s in the construction business, said in the last couple of years banks have loosened up the loans for developers on multi-unit properties and that has led to an unhealthy balance in the city.
With more than 70,000 people, Layton is Davis County's largest city, and it’s growing. In the past two years, 720 new homes were built, but more than 800 apartment units were constructed during the same time.
“We felt that was quite an impact on the community to be adding more apartments than single family,” Stevenson said. “So we took the stand that it was important to build our base as far as the single family goes, to strengthen the community.”
The mayor said stopping the construction of apartments is not a statement about people who live in apartments.
“We have apartment dwellers in our own neighborhood,” he said. “They're wonderful people and hopefully they'll turn around and purchase single family homes and stay in our community for a long, long time.”
The resolution is not permanent. The city council can lift it in the future if and when they see fit to do so.
