There may soon be a pause on lot subdivision in Whitehorse's country residential neighbourhoods.

City council received an administrative report suggesting a moratorium on applications to rezone land from Country Residential 1 (RC1) to Country Residential 2 (RC2) at its standing committee meeting on Tuesday evening. The rezoning is required so both parcels of land meet size requirements post-subdivision.

Council has approved three RC1 to RC2 applications this year.

However, concerns have been raised about the effects of subdivision on land and water in country residential areas.

When the city's planning department received several additional inquiries about subdividing country residential properties, officials decided studies into the effects need to be done.

"We thought it might be better to step back and build a firm set of criteria for information we would look to acquire when one of these came through the door,” Pat Ross, the city's land development supervisor, told council Tuesday.

"We just want to get a good handle on, when someone comes and applies, what exactly the applicant is going to be asked to do.”

Required information could include things like a site sketch or reports on water availability.

The city expects the desire to subdivide country residential properties will grow.

"Eventually, there's going to be more and more pressure on these country residential lots … because we don't have any more country residential areas designated in the Official Community Plan,” Ross said.

Administration is suggesting no more RC1 to RC2 applications be accepted until the city's planning department can return to council with a proposal on how to handle such applications.

"At this point, we're essentially just holding everybody at bay until we can do our homework,” Ross said.

How long planning officials should have to do that homework was up for debate Tuesday night.

Both Mayor Bev Buckway and Coun. Ranj Pillai said they wanted to know how long the moratorium would last.

"If we pause on doing this … we need to have a clear deadline for people,” Pillai said.

"There's people that came into this room a month ago. And to be fair, the other individuals who want to do it — whether we like it or not — need to have information.”

Where the money for studies would come from was also questioned at the meeting.

Coun. Dave Stockdale said he is "totally against” any further subdivision of country residential properties.

"The OCP doesn't endorse it, the zoning bylaw doesn't endorse it, and most of the citizens don't want it,” he said.

Stockdale said he does not want to see the city pay for studies in the area if subdividing the properties isn't something council and residents want.

Coun. Doug Graham noted that city council enabled the current situation by dropping the minimum lot size requirement from 1 ha to 0.5 ha and allowing garden suites on country residential properties. Now council is responsible for fixing the problem, he said.

"We're the ones, basically, that got ourselves in this pickle,” he said. "And now what we're doing is looking at some way to get ourselves out of it.”

If things like hydrogeological studies and tests on percolation rates are necessary, they should come out of the city's pocket, Graham said.

"If we have to do that, it's going to cost some money,” he said.

"But it's our responsibility. We can't expect land owners to be accepting the costs.”

Coun. Florence Roberts suggested the city attempt to form partnerships with the Yukon government and First Nations in the given area to fund the studies.

The issue should be designated as one of council's strategic priorities and budgeted for, Buckway said.

Planning officials need to go to council with the scope and criteria before anything else can be done, Pillai said.

"It's not our job to build the project.”

Other councillors suggested more than scope and criteria may be required.

Coun. Betty Irwin suggested the Official Community Plan and zoning bylaw need to be revisited to truly resolve the issue.

"When you start going down the wrong road and you discover that you're going down the wrong road, you usually don't continue on,” she said. "You turn around and you try another approach.”

City council will vote on the moratorium on Monday.