City of Daphne is considering a moratorium that would temporarily pause multifamily residential developments.

According to documents, the moratorium would apply to “any application for rezoning, pre-zoning, site plan approval, master plan approval, planned development approval or other development approval for any new multi-family residential development” within the city’s corporate limits. These include apartments, townhomes, condominiums, duplexes and “similar residential developments containing more than one dwelling unit on a single lot or unified development site.”

City officials said if approved, the moratorium would last six months.
Daphne hasn’t enacted a moratorium on residential developments since September 2021, when city council voted to impose a six-month pause on rezoning applications for apartments, mid-rise condominiums, townhomes and PUDs that included multifamily residences. The moratorium was then extended for an additional six months in March 2022.

Just down the road in Fairhope, Daphne's Eastern Shore neighbor also has a moratorium on multiple occupancy projects that was first approved in March 2025 and has since been extended multiple times, including for another six months this March. Meanwhile, other municipalities within Baldwin County such as Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Robertsdale have also paused new developments of certain residential projects as the county continues to see exponential growth.

City Councilman Benjamin Hughes told GCM the moratorium would allow the city to look at ways to alleviate the impact these developments would have on infrastructure, utilities, schools and environmental concerns.

“We have a lot of multifamily developments coming in, and we’re recognizing that for us to be responsible with the growth and managing that, we need to slow down a little bit,” Hughes said.

Hughes also said it would give them time to work on a new land use development ordinance, which would involve regulations on neighborhoods, apartments and developments in Daphne. He expects it to be ready this fall but said it could also be within a couple of months.

This moratorium would only apply to new applicants involving multifamily residential developments. Developments and projects that have already been approved or applied for, such as the Italian Village project, will be unaffected.

The proposed moratorium was discussed during a Code Enforcement/Ordinance committee meeting on Monday, June 1. The topic was moved to the next city council meeting scheduled for June 15, where it will be read and public comment will take place.

Hughes told GCM he expects an official vote on the moratorium to take place in July.