(1) No city, county or special district may adopt a moratorium on construction or land development unless it first:

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(a) Provides written notice to the Department of Land Conservation and Development at least 45 days prior to the final public hearing to be held to consider the adoption of the moratorium;

(b) Makes written findings justifying the need for the moratorium in the manner provided for in this section; and

(c) Holds a public hearing on the adoption of the moratorium and the findings which support the moratorium.

(2) For urban or urbanizable land, a moratorium may be justified by demonstration of a need to prevent a shortage of public facilities which would otherwise occur during the effective period of the moratorium. Such a demonstration shall be based upon reasonably available information, and shall include, but need not be limited to, findings:

(a) Showing the extent of need beyond the estimated capacity of existing public facilities expected to result from new land development, including identification of any public facilities currently operating beyond capacity, and the portion of such capacity already committed to development;

(b) That the moratorium is reasonably limited to those areas of the city, county or special district where a shortage of key public facilities would otherwise occur; and

(c) That the housing and economic development needs of the area affected have been accommodated as much as possible in any program for allocating any remaining public facility capacity.

(3) A moratorium not based on a shortage of public facilities under subsection (2) of this section may be justified only by a demonstration of compelling need. Such a demonstration shall be based upon reasonably available information and shall include, but need not be limited to, findings:

(a) For urban or urbanizable land:

(A) That application of existing development ordinances or regulations and other applicable law is inadequate to prevent irrevocable public harm from development in affected geographical areas;

(B) That the moratorium is sufficiently limited to ensure that a needed supply of affected housing types and the supply of commercial and industrial facilities within or in proximity to the city, county or special district are not unreasonably restricted by the adoption of the moratorium;

(C) Stating the reasons alternative methods of achieving the objectives of the moratorium are unsatisfactory;

(D) That the city, county or special district has determined that the public harm which would be caused by failure to impose a moratorium outweighs the adverse effects on other affected local governments, including shifts in demand for housing or economic development, public facilities and services and buildable lands, and the overall impact of the moratorium on population distribution; and

(E) That the city, county or special district proposing the moratorium has determined that sufficient resources are available to complete the development of needed interim or permanent changes in plans, regulations or procedures within the period of effectiveness of the moratorium.

(b) For rural land:

(A) That application of existing development ordinances or regulations and other applicable law is inadequate to prevent irrevocable public harm from development in affected geographical areas;

(B) Stating the reasons alternative methods of achieving the objectives of the moratorium are unsatisfactory;

(C) That the moratorium is sufficiently limited to ensure that lots or parcels outside the affected geographical areas are not unreasonably restricted by the adoption of the moratorium; and

(D) That the city, county or special district proposing the moratorium has developed a work plan and time schedule for achieving the objectives of the moratorium.

(4) No moratorium adopted under subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be effective for a period longer than 120 days, but such a moratorium may be extended provided the city, county or special district adopting the moratorium holds a public hearing on the proposed extension and adopts written findings that:

(a) Verify the problem giving rise to the need for a moratorium still exists;

(b) Demonstrate that reasonable progress is being made to alleviate the problem giving rise to the moratorium; and

(c) Set a specific duration for the renewal of the moratorium. No extension may be for a period longer than six months.

(5) Any city, county or special district considering an extension of a moratorium shall give the department at least 14 days’ notice of the time and date of the public hearing on the extension. [1980 c.2 § 3; 1991 c.839 § 3; 1995 c.463 § 3]