The Charleston City Council approved a six-month moratorium on issuing permits for rooming or boarding houses Tuesday.

A six-month moratorium on the issuing of permits means permits will not be issued for the erection and construction of rooming or boarding houses for six months.

Scott Smith, the city manager, said rooming or boarding houses includes Greek housing.

The council reviews the codes every year and the moratorium gives them a chance to do that, he said.

“Basically in the six-month window of time, council, (the Board of Zoning, Appeals, and Planning), will have a chance to review the existing code, compare it to other university communities and discuss if there needs to be any changes,” Smith said. “There have been some questions posed, this gives them time.”

Mayor Larry Rennels said rooming or boarding houses would house 12 people at most to live in them.

“It’s time to see where it is appropriate for those kinds of structures to be, where other university towns have placed those structures,” Rennels said. “Let the public weigh on it.”

The temporary moratorium will expire on May 5.

The council also approved the acquisition of eight parcels of land along 20th Street for the completion of the sidewalk.

“There were eight parcels that we need of three-foot wide strip of land along the street in order to make room for the sidewalk,” Rennels said.

The total cost of the acquisition is $3,419.

Additionally, the council approved the extension of insurance services with Dimond Bros. Insurance Agency, Inc. until
Oct. 1, 2017.

The extensions will allow Dimond Bros. Insurance Agency, Inc. to continue to place property, casualty and worker’s compensation coverage and to administer an insurance program.

The Charleston City Council will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18 in the council chambers of City Hall.

Amanda Wilkinson can be reached at 581-2812 or akwilkinson@eiu.edu.