To reduce the number of buildable lots due to infrastructure constraints, which tool would be most appropriate?

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Tying development approvals to the capacity of the public infrastructure that serves them is the key idea here. An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance requires that before a new lot or subdivision can be approved, there must be available and planned capacity in essential facilities like roads, water, sewer, schools, and emergency services. When infrastructure is already strained, this tool effectively limits how many new lots can be approved by ensuring facilities are capable of serving them, which directly reduces the number of buildable lots.

Impact fees are charges imposed on development to fund infrastructure, which can influence whether a project pencils out, but they don’t automatically cap the number of lots that can be built. A zoning moratorium could pause development, but it’s a blunt, temporary stop that isn’t a precise, long-term growth-management mechanism. Density bonuses, on the other hand, encourage more development by offering incentives, not restrict it.