Title 40 — Municipal Government

To alleviate traffic congestion in municipalities, prevent the development of blight, and implement orderly plans for urban development and urban renewal, it is necessary that adequate and suitable space be reserved, particularly in central business areas, for parking facilities;…

Any municipality is authorized: 1. To acquire, construct, improve, develop, and extend parking facilities. 2. To provide funds for this purpose by the budgeting of current funds from revenues derived from its general fund levy authority, the levy of special assessments, or the is…

In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Authority" means any corporation created under the authority of this chapter. 2. "Board" means the members of the authority. 3. "Bonds" means the bonds authorized in this chapter. 4. "City" means any ci…

Any city may create a board to be known as a municipal parking authority. Such board shall be a body corporate, constituting a public benefit corporation, and its existence shall commence upon the appointment of the members as herein provided. It shall consist of a chairman and f…

The purpose of an authority shall be to construct, operate, and maintain one or more projects in the city and to promote and acquire municipal parking facilities in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and to promote municipal development by making space above, below, o…

An authority may provide funds for its purposes by using the following methods or any combination thereof: 1. Issuing bonds of an authority as authorized by section 40-61-08. 2. Issuing notes of an authority as authorized by section 40-61-09. 3. In cooperation with cities whereby…

Municipal parking authorities shall not be subject to civil service or merit system laws, veterans preference laws, or other laws, ordinances, and regulations pertaining to the status of municipal employees. Employees of a municipal parking authority shall have the same position …

An authority shall let contracts for construction in the same manner, so far as practicable, as is provided by law for contracts of cities except that if the estimated expense of a contract does not exceed five hundred dollars, such contract may be entered into without public let…

All moneys of an authority shall be paid to the city auditor as agent of the authority, who shall not commingle such moneys with any other moneys. Such moneys shall be deposited in a separate bank account or accounts. The moneys in such accounts shall be paid out by the auditor o…

1. An authority may from time to time issue its negotiable bonds for any purpose mentioned in section 40-61-03, including the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, and repair of personal and real property of all kinds deemed by the board to be necessary or desirable to carry…

An authority shall have power from time to time to issue notes and from time to time to issue renewal notes, herein referred to as notes, maturing not later than five years from their respective original dates for any purpose or purposes for which bonds may be issued, whenever an…

Prior to the issuance of any bonds authorized by this chapter, except revenue bonds authorized in subsection 8 of section 40-61-08, the authority shall require that the payment of not less than ten percent of the principal and interest of the bonds issued for any project be guara…

1. Cities may pledge to and agree with the holders of the bonds that the city will not limit or alter the rights hereby vested in the authority to acquire, construct, maintain, reconstruct, and operate the project or projects, to establish and collect rentals, fees, and other cha…

The bonds and other obligations of an authority shall not be a debt of the state of North Dakota and the state shall not be liable thereon. The bonds and other obligations of an authority shall not be a debt of a city and a city shall not be liable thereon unless a city agrees to…

Except as otherwise provided in the Constitution of North Dakota, the bonds are hereby made securities in which all public officers and bodies of this state and all municipalities and municipal subdivisions, all banks, bankers, trust companies, savings banks, savings associations…

1. It is hereby determined that the creation of an authority and the carrying out of its corporate purposes is in all respects for the benefit of the people of the city which has authorized it and its environs, and is a public purpose, and an authority shall be regarded as perfor…

The state of North Dakota covenants with the purchasers and with all subsequent holders and transferees of bonds or notes issued by an authority pursuant to this chapter, in consideration of the acceptance of and payment for the bonds or notes, that the bonds and notes of an auth…

1. In the event that an authority shall default in the payment of principal of or interest on any issue of the bonds after the same shall become due, whether at maturity or upon call for redemption, and such default shall continue for a period of thirty days, or in the event that…

In every action against an authority for damages, for injuries to real or personal property, or for the destruction thereof, or for personal injuries or death, the complaint shall contain an allegation that at least thirty days have elapsed since the demand, claim, or claims upon…

Repealed by S.L. 1969, ch. 387, § 9.

A majority vote of the governing body of any city shall terminate an existing authority, and all rights, titles, and interest, and all obligations and liabilities thereof shall be vested in or possessed by the city which created the authority.

Insofar as the provisions of this chapter are inconsistent with the provisions of any other act, general or special, or of any local law of a city, the provisions of this title shall be controlling.

1. The governing body of any city may by resolutions create a special improvement district, order and approve plans and specifications, determine the necessity, advertise and enter contracts, issue special improvement warrants and bonds, and levy special assessments for the impro…

The resolution determining the necessity of the improvement shall designate the portions of streets to be included within the mall or crossed by skyways and shall state the reason or reasons why such designation is deemed necessary. It is recognized by state policy that such nece…

The plans and specifications must provide for improvement of the designated streets or construction of skyways in a manner designed for the free movement, safety, convenience, and enjoyment of pedestrians, whether or not part of the mall is made available for emergency or other p…

Upon hearing of any protests made by the owners of property within the improvement district in the time and in the manner provided by law, if the governing body shall determine the protests to be insufficient, it may proceed with the improvement as in the case of other special im…

The jurisdiction of the city to make a pedestrian mall improvement or to construct skyways, when established in the manner provided by law, shall include jurisdiction to establish by ordinance and from time to time amend reasonable regulations for the use of the mall or skyways, …

A pedestrian mall or skyway established pursuant to this chapter may be maintained and the cost of such maintenance may be paid by all means permitted by law for streets. The governing body may also annually cause an estimate to be made of the probable cost of the maintenance dur…

An established pedestrian mall or skyway may be subsequently improved or extended by proceedings taken in the same manner as for its establishment, and the improvements or extensions may thereafter be regulated and maintained as provided in this chapter.

As used in this chapter: 1. "Boundary" means the boundary established by vote of the city governing body and approved by the department of commerce division of community services. 2. "Development plan" means a written plan that addresses the criteria in subsection 1 of section 40…

Any incorporated city may apply to the department of commerce division of community services to designate a portion of the city as a renaissance zone. Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, trust, or corporation may apply for a tax credit or …

1. A city may apply to the department of commerce division of community services to designate a portion of that city as a renaissance zone if the following criteria are met: a. The geographic area proposed for the renaissance zone is located wholly within the boundaries of the ci…

1. An individual taxpayer who purchases or rehabilitates single-family residential property for the individual's primary place of residence as a zone project is exempt from up to ten thousand dollars of personal income tax liability as determined under section 57-38-30.3 for up t…

1. A municipality may grant a partial or complete exemption from ad valorem taxation on single-family residential property, exclusive of the land on which it is situated, if the property was purchased or rehabilitated by an individual for the individual's primary place of residen…

A credit against state tax liability as determined under sections 57-38-30 and 57-38-30.3 is allowed for investments in the historic preservation or renovation of property within the renaissance zone. The amount of the credit is twenty-five percent of the amount invested, up to a…

1. Each city with a designated renaissance zone may establish a renaissance fund organization, if the detailed plan for such an organization is clearly established in the development plan and approved with the plan, or is submitted at a later date to the department of commerce di…

Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 359, § 11.

The tax commissioner shall administer this chapter with respect to an income tax exemption or credit and has the same powers as provided under section 57-38-56 for purposes of this chapter. The secrecy provisions of section 57-38-57 do not apply to exemptions or credits received …

A partnership, subchapter S corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, or any other passthrough entity that purchases or leases property in a renaissance zone for any business purpose, invests in a historic preservation or renovation of property within a renaiss…

A taxpayer may not be delinquent in payment of any state and local tax liability to be eligible for a tax benefit under this chapter.

An advisory study committee may be established under this chapter to provide local citizens and leaders with the means for fully and adequately studying options available for positioning their local governments for effective, creative, and efficient service in the future, in a ma…

1. The governing body or electors of a county, city, city park district, township, school district, or any other political subdivision of this state may establish an advisory committee to study the existing form and powers of that political subdivision for comparison with other f…

1. The governing bodies of any two or more political subdivisions, including any combination of counties, cities, city park districts, townships, school districts, or other political subdivisions, may establish an advisory committee to study the potential for cooperative or combi…

A local or cooperative advisory study committee established for one or more political subdivisions may recommend that a local governing body or the electors pursue any course of action permitted by law or home rule charter for that political subdivision. The committee may recomme…

Any city which shall have operated for more than six years since the adoption of the city council system of government or since the last election at which the question of changing from the council system was rejected by a vote of the qualified electors, may change its organizatio…

Within thirty days after a petition to change from the council system of government is filed, the city auditor shall examine the petition and ascertain from the voters' register whether or not the petition is signed by the required number of qualified electors. The city auditor s…

Any city incorporated as a city under the council form of government may change its organization thereunder and adopt the modern council form of government. The proceeding to change shall be initiated by a petition asking for such change signed by not less than one-third of the q…

Within thirty days after a petition to change from the council system of government is filed, the city auditor shall examine the petition and ascertain from the voters' register whether or not the petition is signed by the required number of qualified electors. The city auditor s…

The governing body of a city operating under the modern council form of government is the city council, which is composed of not less than four members, one of whom is the mayor, all elected at large or by wards. Candidates for the council shall run for either mayor or council me…

The members of the council are entitled to receive such compensation for their services as is fixed by ordinance.