As discussions and controversy continue about whether or not the McKenzie County Commissioners should enact a county-wide land use plan, the divide seems to continue with some residents adamantly for it, others opposing it and others somewhere in between.
With the oil boom expansion and population explosion, the landscape of Northeast Montana and Western North Dakota is changing rapidly with buildings going up seemingly overnight. How community members feel about the rapid expansion and creep toward a sprawling suburbia is directly related to how this development is affecting them on a personal level. The fervor of comments coming from both sides of the oil well stem from landowners wanting the freedom to exercise their rights to use and sell their land how they want to and community members who feel they are being negatively affected by those decisions.
In an effort to gain some control over these continually occurring concerns and landowner conflicts, the county began looking at initiating a county wide land use and zoning ordinance that would mandate the need for the issuing of county permits before buildings could be constructed.
McKenzie County is currently the only one of 53 counties in North Dakota to not have a planning and zoning ordinance to assist them with identifying how land is going to be used.
“I think if the county is able to implement a zoning policy it will enable them to have more control on how the growth takes place. People in this area believe in property rights and historically it has been very important to them but as more people are affected by the growth, people want to see some controls,” said Dale Patten, McKenzie County Commissioner.
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with a little organization but things always start out innocently with a few rules and then you get some more. I just want everyone to think about what the best solution is rather than to just react. I too have reacted rather than thinking but I think it’s going to be a good thing to have taken some time to really weigh in on the issue from both sides. There was a time when I was totally convinced about what the solution was but now I’m not so sure,” said Rick Lawler, McKenzie County Commissioner.
Currently, the commissioners are facing daily issues dealing with road concerns, housing development and water requests and the current population explosion while trying to forecast what may be necessary as more people continue to take up residence.
Gene Veeder, McKenzie County Job Development Authority executive director, said he receives over 70 inquiries a week from potential developers wanting to set up shop in McKenzie County. With surrounding counties having already put into place moratoriums to prevent more man camps from setting up, those developers are turning to McKenzie County.
Watford City has already implemented a city moratorium on man camps within city limits and within the one-mile extraterritorial zone to stop some of the temporary housing expansion while the city tries to catch up with the influx of people. “We are currently not allowing any more RV parks, trailer parks or man camps. We know it is expensive to build temporary housing so we are hoping this will be an incentive to people coming to this area to build permanent housing. We want to see apartment buildings and new homes being built,” said Mayor Brent Sanford.
“Currently, it’s basically the wild wild west out here. People don’t need a permit to build. Zoning regulations would give people a chance to change what is happening in their neighborhoods if what is happening is detrimental to their way of life or the value of their home. We have housing communities that have basically been overrun by man camps and trucking companies,” Sanford added.
If a county land use and zoning plan was created it would provide a blanket use for agricultural building. This means that land used for agriculture would not need building permits for any structures built for agriculture unless those structures were designated for some other use. If the county zoning board develops ordinances for the other zoning districts in the county, that development begins to become regulated. Man camps already in place would be grandfathered into any zoning ordinances created.
“I think these little towns have to stick to their guns and take the high road and make it difficult for these oil companies to come in here so that we can have a nice community. If we are tougher with development we can become the town we want to be,” Sanford commented.
Not everyone believes a land use plan will fix the housing problems. Paul Sorum, a contractor, architect and candidate for Governor of North Dakota says the pursuit of zoning regulations will lead to skyrocketing housing prices and not create the infrastructure necessary to sustain the oil industry. “Zoning is not going to build infrastructure. Instead it’s going to inhibit development and make housing more expensive. You don’t have the right to tell people they can’t have a roof over their head. It shouldn’t be up to certain individuals to decide if others can build houses. People don’t own their communities, they live in them,” Sorum said.
Watford City is a small community that once boasted some 1,500 residents. Currently, there are about 6,500 living in temporary housing within a five-mile radius of the town.
It has one elementary school, one high school, and one hospital, 10 law enforcement officers between city and county sheriff’s departments and a fire department consisting of 23 volunteers. To date there are about 10,000 people living in the area with potentially thousands more on the way.
As more people continue to migrate to the area, law enforcement, volunteer emergency medical services and schools are struggling to keep up. City police have nearly tripled the amount of officers on staff going from four just two years ago to a total of 10 officers following the New Year. The area they cover for corporate city limits has also tripled. “My officers face more calls, more case reports and more arrests than metropolitan police because of the ratio of officers to populous. They face everything from a routine traffic stop to car crashes, drug possessions and an increase in domestic violence,” said City Police Chief Slade Herfindahl.
With the passage of HB1144 by the North Dakota Legislature, state political subdivisions can now charge a permit fee for temporary housing units which would allow the county to recoup some of their expenditures for maintaining roads, and other county services such as law enforcement and emergency medical services.
Once the county determines if zoning is the answer to gaining some control over some of the issues coming with the oil boom, they will then meet and decide where to go from there.
Public forums for discussion are taking place in Cartwright on Dec. 21, at 3 p.m. at city hall and in Alexander on Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. at city hall. Other informational meetings took place earlier in Watford City, Keene and Grassy Butte.
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