Agenda - Planning Commission - 10/04/2012

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Zoning Bulletin July 25, 2012 I Volume 6 I Issue 14 court explained that a party's common law right to develop and/or construct vests when: (I) the party has made, prior to the amendment of a zoning ordinance, expenditures or incurred contractual obligations substantial in amount, incidental to or as part of the acquisition of the building site or the construction or equipment of the proposed building; (2) the obligations and/or expenditures are incurred in good faith; (3) the obligations and/or expenditures were made in reasonable reliance on and after the issuance of a valid building permit, if such permit is required, authorizing the use requested by the party; and (4) the amended ordinance is a detriment to the party. Here, because no permit was issued in this case, the court found that Waste Industries could not meet the requirement for the vested rights analysis that their expenditures on the proposed landfill "were made in reasonable reliance on and after the issuance of a valid . . . permit. " As a result, the court held that Waste Industries had no common law vested rights in the proposed landfill. tanding®Nonprofit I rganization Appeals Board's Decision to Rezone Property Board and applicant maintain organization Tacks standing to bring challenge Citation: Dakota Resource Council v. Stark County Bd. of County Com'rs, 2012 ND 114, 2012 WL 2053713 (N.D. 2012) NORTH DAKOTA (06/07/12)—This case addressed the issue of whether a membership -based nonprofit corporation had "associational standing" (i.e., the legal right) to challenge a board of county commissioner's decision to ap- prove a zone change. The Background/Facts: Great Northern Project Development ("Great Northern") planned to construct and operate a coal gasification facility on a tract of land in Stark County, North Dakota .(the "County"). Great Northern's planned 8,100-acre complex would include: a coal gasification plant; a chemi- cal fertilizer plant; an electrical power plant; a coal mine; a solid waste landfill; and facilities for manufacture and storage of hazardous, explosive, and odor- ous products. In furtherance of this planned construction, Great Northern submitted an application to the County Zoning Commission (the "Commission"). Great Northern asked the Commission to change the zoning of the subject land from agricultural to industrial and to allow nine conditional uses of the land. Following a hearing, the Commission voted to recommend that the County Board of County Commissioners (the "Board") approve Great Northern's ap- plication for a zone change, conditioned upon Great Northern obtaining all necessary local, state, and federal permits or approvals. Subsequently, the Board approved Great Northern's application to rezone ©2012 Thomson Reuters 9