Whenever the governing body of the municipality may deem it for the public interest, it may change or add to the official master plan by laying out new streets, improvements, or conveniences mentioned in this chapter or by widening, enlarging, closing, or abandoning existing streets, improvements, or conveniences. At least ten days' notice of a public hearing on any proposed action with reference to such change in the official master plan shall be published in the official newspaper of the municipality. Before any such addition or change is made, the matter shall be referred to the planning commission for report thereon as provided in section 40-48-11. Such additions and changes, when adopted by an ordinance of the governing body, shall become a part of the official master plan of the municipality and shall be deemed to be final and conclusive with respect to all matters shown thereon. The layout, widening, enlarging, closing, or abandoning of streets, plazas, open spaces, and parks or playgrounds by the municipality under provisions of the laws of this state other than those contained in this chapter shall be deemed to be a change or addition to the official master plan and shall be subject to all the provisions of this chapter.
40-48-17. Submission of matters to planning commission before governing body takes action thereon. The governing body creating the planning commission, by a general or special rule, may provide for the reference of any other matter or class of matters to the commission before final action is taken thereon by the governing body, or by the municipal officer having the final authority thereon, with the provision that final action shall not be taken thereon until the planning commission has submitted its report or has had a reasonable time, as fixed in said rule, to do so. The planning commission may make such investigations, maps, reports, and recommendations in connection therewith relating to the planning and development of the municipality as to it seems desirable, but the total expenditures of the board in such matters shall not exceed the funds available therefor.
40-48-18. Extraterritorial subdivision regulation - Mediation - Determination by administrative law judge. 1. A city may, by ordinance, extend its regulation of subdivisions beyond its corporate limits to the same extent as a city is authorized to extend its zoning authority under section 40-47-01.1.
2. If two or more cities have boundaries at a distance where there is an overlap of extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority under this section, the governing bodies of the cities may enter into an agreement regarding the extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority of each city. The agreement must be for a specific term and is binding upon the cities unless the governing bodies of the cities agree to amend or rescind the agreement or unless determined otherwise by an administrative law judge in accordance with this chapter. If a dispute arises concerning the extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority of a city, and the governing bodies of the cities involved fail to resolve the dispute, the dispute must be submitted to a committee for mediation. The committee must be comprised of one member appointed by the governor, one member of the governing body of each city, and one member of the planning commission of each city who resides outside the corporate city limits. The governor's appointee shall arrange and preside over the meeting and act as mediator at the meeting. The meeting may be continued until the dispute has been resolved or until the mediator determines that continued mediation is no longer worthwhile. 3. If the mediation committee is unable to resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of the governing bodies of all the cities involved, the governing body of any of the cities may petition the office of administrative hearings to appoint an administrative law judge to determine the extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority of the cities in the disputed area. A hearing may not be held until after at least two weeks' written notice has been given to the governing bodies of the cities involved in the dispute. At the hearing, the governor's appointee who mediated the meetings under subsection 2 shall provide information to the administrative law judge on the dispute between the cities involved and any proposed resolutions or recommendations made by a majority of the committee members. Any resident of, or person owning property in, a city involved in the dispute or the unincorporated territory that is the subject of the proposed subdivision regulation, a representative of such a resident or property owner, and any representative of a city involved, may appear at the hearing and present evidence on any matter to be determined by the administrative law judge. A decision by the administrative law judge is binding upon all the cities involved in the dispute and remains effective until the governing bodies of the cities agree to a change in the subdivision regulation authority of the cities. The governing body of a city may request a review of a decision of an administrative law judge due to changed circumstances at any time ten years after the decision has become final. An administrative law judge shall consider the following factors in making a decision under this subsection: a. The proportional extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority of the cities involved in the dispute; b. The proximity of the land in dispute to the corporate limits of each city involved; c. The proximity of the land in dispute to developed property in the cities involved; d. Whether any of the cities has exercised extraterritorial subdivision regulation authority over the disputed land; e. Whether natural boundaries such as rivers, lakes, highways, or other physical characteristics affecting the land are present; f. The growth pattern of the cities involved in the dispute; and g. Any other factor determined to be relevant by the administrative law judge.