HOLLADAY - Need to get a building permit this week? The message from beneath that little, black fortune-telling eight-ball at City Hall is: Try again later.

"For three days, anything that comes to the counter is pretty much thumbs down," said Community Development Director Paul Allred following a special Monday morning City Council session. By 9 a.m., council members had voted, 4-2, to temporarily restrict certain types of residential development.

Their targets: so-called monster homes and planned-unit developments, or PUDs. In other words, gated communities jammed onto small parcels of land.

"This is a very temporary fix," acknowledged Councilman Hugo Diederich. "If concerns are raised even in the next week or so, we can address those. But in the meantime, we stop the bleeding."

Diederich represents Holladay's District 5, the portion of the city south of 5600 South, Walker Lane and Casto Lane.

Several of his constituents - some in the high-end gated communities along 6200 South - have contacted him, upset over concerns about massive homes going up and obliterating their high-priced mountain views.

This citywide building moratorium could last three days - council members will discuss the ordinance again during their regular Thursday meeting - or up to six months.

Why the rush to get restrictions in place?

"It's been brewing for awhile. There have been so many complaints about monster homes," said City Planner Pat Hanson.

These super-sized dwellings are part of a growing trend where people buy older homes in well-established areas and replace them with massive structures, pushing the limits in terms of building heights and required setbacks.

In June, the City Council denied one developer's request for a rezone to build a 10-unit PUD on 1.5 acres west of Highland Drive at 3900 South. Some neighboring homeowners objected to the increased density, and loss of trees and open space.

The new ordinance prohibits so-called "flag" - two-home - lots, increases PUD size to a minimum of 5 acres, calls for larger setbacks and limits buildings and pavement to 40 percent of total lot area.

"They pretty well shut down all PUDs with this," said City Manager Randy Fitts.

However, these constraints could morph again by the end of the week.

"The whole regulation will probably get a new iteration Thursday, and could be less restrictive," Hanson said.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

What's next

The Holladay City Council will revisit its residential- development ordinance on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.