The city has placed a moratorium on any rezoning of lots from Country Residential 1 to Country Residential 2.

The move was made last Monday night in a vote that also saw council move ahead with a change to the Official Community Plan (OCP) that would increase minimum lot sizes outside the city's major urban area.

The moratorium is scheduled to be in place until May 13 and by that time it's expected the OCP amendment will have passed.

Staff proposed the change amid concerns about the number of subdivision applications that have been coming forward.

The Country Residential 1 zone requires properties to be a minimum of one hectare while a Country Residential 2 zoned property can be 0.5 ha. Many of those seeking to subdivide their Country Residential 1 property do so by having it rezoned Country Residential 2.

Concerns about the number of rezoning and cumulative effects on the wells and septic systems of neighbouring residents (country residential neighbourhoods aren't on city utilities) first came up in 2011 when properties in Whitehorse Copper were rezoned.

Moratoriums were put in place on rezoning from RC1 to RC2 first in August 2011 and then again last March so it could be dealt with through the rewriting of the zoning bylaw.

The new zoning bylaw was adopted in July and includes a requirement for a detailed hydro-geological and nitrogen loading assessment before zoning changes can be approved that would increase density outside the city's urban containment boundary.

After that regulation was adopted though the city had a number of questions on what level of study needed to be done to meet the requirement.

One such study which considers the lot under consideration and 18 nearby properties has been submitted since.

In a previous presentation, senior planner Mike Ellis told council it can be difficult to determine the impacts on neighbouring properties without a neighbourhood-wide study.

Residents will have their chance to speak out on the proposed OCP change at council's Feb. 25 meeting where a public hearing on the issue has been scheduled.

A report on what comes out of that hearing will then come forward at the March 4 meeting. Second reading would then be voted on the following week.

If that passes, the change (as is the case for all OCP amendments) would go to the Yukon government for ministerial approval before coming back to council for third reading.

It's expected that would happen by May 13, when the moratorium is set to end.