Upcoming Committee Meetings
Thursdays at 3pm
Committee meetings will be conducted remotely via GoToMeeting.
Email NDplanning.org@gmail.com for meeting invite to join us.
Please consider joining our Legislative Committee!
We’re seeking folks from across the state who are willing to assist in identifying and tracking bills as well as craft testimony on bills that have planning, land use, or accessory topical implications. It’s a heavy lift when the session gets hectic and we’d appreciate anyone and everyone who can assist for any amount of time.
Bill Tracking
OPPOSING
1422 - Relating to nonconformities - Hearing scheduled for 1/25 at 8:00 AM
1423 - Relating to a statewide model zoning ordinance for animal feeding operations - No hearing scheduled as of yet
1340 - Relating to Firearms sales - Hearing scheduled for 1/26 at 8:30 AM
1404 - Relating to firearms sales - Similar/same as proposed 1340 firearms legislation - No hearing scheduled as of yet.
1479- Relating to knife manufacturing - No hearing scheduled as of yet.
SUPPORTING
1266 - Relating to the reestablishment of a community’s expired Renaissance Zone Program - Continuing to watch and monitor
1174 - Relating to condominium regulations - Committee hearing to be held 1/19
WATCHING
HB 1049 - Relating to a preemption of local zoning authority and a requirement to treat agency foster homes as a permitted uses in a single-family zone. The bill was heard on Tuesday 1/10 at 2:00 pm.
HB 1124 - Prohibiting counties and cities from instating any law that prohibits use of natural gas in construction.
SB 2082 - Exempts short term lodgings (like AirBnBs) from state lodging regulations.
SB 2118 - Abandoned motor vehicles - changes definitions and permitting requirements
SB 2134 - Bee keeping regulations
Important Dates
January 3 - Session begins (State of the State Address)
January 16 - Deadline for representatives to introduce legislation
January 23 - Deadline for senators to introduce legislation
January 26 - Deadline for introducing resolutions, except constitutional amendments and study resolutions
February 21 - Bills and resolutions, except constitutional amendments and study resolutions, must be reported out of committee in house of origin
February 24 - Crossover date for bills
February 27 & 28 – Recess
March 1 – Reconvene from crossover break
March 3 - Study resolutions and proposed constitutional amendments must be reported out of committee
March 8 - Crossover date for resolutions
April 5 - Bills and resolutions must be reported out of committee in second house
April 28 - Session must end (session limited to 80 legislative days)
NDPA Position Papers
NDPA has preemptively drafted position papers regarding our stance on the topics listed below. We hope this may be help as a starting point for those creating their own testimony as well as put us as an organization in a good position to respond quickly when hearings and changes get hectic.
Extra Territorial Jurisdictions
Non-Conforming Issues
Importance of Local Control over Land Use and Zoning Matters
Renaissance Zones
Buildings / Aesthetic Design Code Values
Previous NDPA Studies
NDPA, the ND League of Cities, North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo), and ND Township Officers Association (NDTOA) are working together to develop an interim legislative study about planning and zoning issues. The first step in this process was to gather input from planning interests across the state, via an online survey.
Aims of the survey:
To gather baseline data about planning and zoning practices and resources from every city/county/township in North Dakota.
To find out what the most urgent planning and zoning challenges and needs are among ND cities/counties/townships.
Results of the Survey are now available for download:
Executive Summary of Survey Results
Survey Results by Political Subdivision
For copy of raw, unconsolidated comments from the survey or to discuss the project more, please contact Natalie Pierce.
Important Links
You can create an account as an individual to tailor which bills you wish to track throughout the session. Instructions for how to do that will be posted soon.
NDLC hosts weekly meetings on Fridays at 2pm to discuss the week’s updates. Information to join is on their website.
NDACo posts weekly video updates