The Langley City Council adopted an emergency six-month moratorium halting the development of subdivisions in the northeast part of town.

The moratorium affects “Zone D” in Langley, an area of just under 31 acres that includes properties located between Edgecliff Drive on the north, Sandy Point Road on the south and the eastern boundary of the city.

The moratorium, adopted unanimously by the city council on Wednesday, will give the city and community members time to address concerns about development in the area and look for solutions.

The ordinance was adopted as an emergency so that it would take effect immediately.

It is the first moratorium enacted in the city’s 87-year-old history.

The building ban on new subdivisions stemmed from a petition the city received this summer, signed by 130 people from the Edgecliff neighborhood. The petition outlined residents’ worries about the consequences that potential development would have on their neighborhood.

“A lot of these things were due to the concerns that might be made worse if subdivisions were allowed and density were to drop,” said city attorney Dale Roundy.

If a subdivision were developed near the Edgecliff neighborhood, sewer line extensions would be installed and zoning in the area would change from allowing one home for every 15,000-square-foot lot to one home for every 7,200-square-foot lot if a sewer line was installed.

In other words, a new subdivision development could allow twice as much density in that area under the existing zoning.

The possibility of additional development worried Edgecliff neighbors. They were worried that added storm-water runoff would threaten the stability of the bluff, and they were also concerned about the impacts development would have on wetlands, wildlife habitat and traffic in the neighborhood.

To top it off, Edgecliff residents said their neighborhood already had a history of water and flooding problems, and increased development would only make the situation worse.

After receiving the petition, the city assured neighborhood community members that they would keep the issue on the city council agenda and make progress to resolve those issues.

Since then, Edgecliff residents have consistently attended meetings and gathered evidence to support their claims.

A listing of water drainage conditions and damage along Edgecliff Drive was put together and presented to the council. Residents also acquired a computer analysis map from the county that showed watershed boundaries, and presented it with an explanation of the way water runs through the area.

The city also researched Edgecliff-area water conditions, and agreed there were water issues.

The city council determined that further subdivision of properties in the D zone did have the potential to create instability to the waterfront bluff and surrounding area.

After the council held a brief closed-door executive session, Langley’s city attorney presented four options to the council that might involve suspension or delay of development in that zone, or putting additional restrictions on new homebuilding.

The first option presented was to let the current regulations control the potential development of properties and deal with those issues as they come up.

The next three all involved the adoption of a moratorium.

One of the three options would adopt a full moratorium on development in the zone, and prohibit any construction in the zone that could change the status-quo.

The council, thinking that this option was too extreme, and the “do nothing” option not enough, opted to adopt a moratorium on subdivisions within the D zone.

The other option was an interim zone map, but city officials said it concentrated too much on zoning.

Councilmembers wanted a broader approach, however.

“It’s one of the things we want to talk about,” Councilmember Robert Gilman said, “I think the issues are more complex.”

Under state law, the council must hold a public hearing within 60 days of the moratorium vote.

They must also put together the evidence they’ve found and organize it into “findings of fact” that support the building ban.

The public hearing will be a chance for people who are affected by the moratorium to learn about the reasons for the ban and give them a chance to comment.

“You involve the public in the fact-finding process,” Roundy said. “People can come whether they are a property owner or a developer or an interested citizen, and provide information and opinion.”

Some Edgecliff residents said they were relieved that city government adopted a moratorium and wants to learn what needs to be done in that area.

“This is a serious situation, and they took it seriously,” Edgecliff resident Gail Fleming said.

“I’m pleased and hopeful that now we can have a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts of development in this area,” she said.