Plan Amendment

All developments must conform to the adopted Comprehensive Plan, and this is the basis that staff will use to review zoning map amendments, subdivisions, and other required procedures. Any of the map-based plans within the Comprehensive Plan may be amended according to the following procedures:

Major amendments to the Future Land Use Plan, Major Street Plan, and Active Mobility Plan amendments may be initiated by property owners upon submittal of a signed application or by the City of Bismarck. Administrative amendments are considered, upon request, by the Community Development Director and City Engineer.

References:

• Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use Plan, Major Street Plan, Growth Phasing Plan, Active Mobility Plan.

Consider before you begin:

• Plan amendments are encouraged to be completed before an application for any zoning map amendment that relies on the change. Multiple plan amendments may be combined together and are considered one project.
• All plan amendments include a public hearing with notification to surrounding neighbors. Developers are encouraged to initiate communications with nearby property owners at early stages to assure mutual understanding.
• Standards for plan amendments are included within the relevant sections of the Comprehensive Plan.
• City staff will offer a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission in the staff report prior to the public hearing. All complete applications will be submitted to the Commission, whether supported by staff or not.

Process Steps:

• Pre-Application (optional). Applicant may request an optional pre-application meeting or inquire with staff prior to applying. This is strongly encouraged.

• Submit Application. A Unified Development Application is submitted to the Planning Division, along with fee and attachments. See this year's Meeting Schedule and Application Deadlines.
• Staff Review: City staff review the request according to the Comprehensive Plan, ordinance, and policies. All review comments are posted using TRAKiT and can be viewed and responded to.
• Development Review Meeting. The request will be included on the next available Development Review Meeting agenda. A few days prior to the meeting, staff comments will be compiled and distributed to applicants and reviewers. Applicant’s consultants are invited to attend this virtual meeting to discuss the project and respond to comments. The group decides by consensus whether to proceed to the next step or hold a month for further revisions.
• Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Consideration. A staff report is released the week prior on the agenda center, which includes a staff recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The item is placed on the consent agenda of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The commission may call for a public hearing or deny the request. Although this item is typically not discussed during the meeting, the applicant should consider having a representative at the meeting to answer any questions that may be raised by the commission.

• Public Notification. The Planning Division publishes two legal advertisements in the Bismarck Tribune and sends letters to nearby property owners notifying of a public hearing.
• Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing. A staff report is released the week prior on the agenda center, and the Planning and Zoning Commission considers the request during their regular agenda. Planning staff presents to the Planning and Zoning Commission, including the staff recommendation, and the Chair will open a public hearing. Traditionally, the applicant or a representative is afforded an opportunity to address the commission first and may respond to any questions from the commission throughout the hearing. The Planning and Zoning Commission may recommend approval, denial, or may continue the item.

• City Commission Final Consideration. The request is placed on the consent agenda at the next City Commission meeting with a recommendation to approve from the Planning and Zoning Commission. Commission may approve, deny, or continue the request.
• Administrative Finalization. City staff prepare the final signed resolution and update the relevant plan map to reflect the amendment. The applicant will receive a copy of the final resolution and an approval letter.  Plan amendment resolutions are not recorded.

Submittal Requirements

• Unified Development application signed by each property owner
• Application fee (See fee schedule (pdf))
• Description or map or area to be amended in the relevant plan

Apply

Initiate an inquiry, submit a scoping request, or file an application for a plan amendment or any combination of project types.

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