ColfaxNext

Future Land Use Planning

Because the City of Colfax is facing development pressures, a future land use plan is strategically important. The future land use plan allows for the City to respond quickly and consistently to development requests and provides a guidebook for those same developers. The adopted plan should not be considered an ordinance but is a guiding document. Any changes to the proposed future land use plan must be heard by the Planning Commission, if there is one, and the City Council in a public hearing after giving the public at least ten days' notice of a public hearing in the official newspaper. (NDCC 40-48-16 North Dakota Century Code t40c48 (ndlegis.gov)) Adopting ColfaxNEXT will also adopt the future land use plan below.

Visit the Colfax Planning GIS Application to view potential future land uses for the City of Colfax. By clicking on each residential land use area, you can view the maximum number of dwelling units of each type for that area. These maximum numbers are just that – a maximum – and don’t dictate how much housing will ultimately be built.

While Colfax has a great deal of open space surrounding it, and greatly values its country feel, the City should focus on strategically adding density to developments, in order to accommodate housing of all types and allowing for all citizens to locate in Colfax. Sprawl should be avoided as it will result in increased infrastructure and maintenance costs for the City. Strategic density can be achieved through a mix of housing types, good design that emphasizes sightlines, landscaping, and open spaces, and shared parking and second story residences in commercial areas. In all future land use districts, the use of landscaping and open space is vital to maintaining the open, rural feel of Colfax. The use types listed below are typical for smaller communities and are in line with the desired development in Colfax based on public input. Some of the uses below are new to the community, and none readily line up with the current, outdated zoning ordinance. This should be rectified.

The future land use plan does contemplate some areas immediately outside the city boundaries, within the jurisdictional Extra Territorial Jurisdiction. Any new uses along County Road 4 should be commercial in nature and zoned appropriately. However, annexation of these areas should be carefully considered, as annexation can bring additional service and maintenance costs for public infrastructure.

GOAL: Adopt Future Land Use Plan

Colfax should aim to adopt a future land use plan and map and should actively use it to guide development. Use types are outlined below.

Rural Residential

This district is what much of current Colfax development north of County 4 looks like. This district requires large lots of a minimum of 1 acre to allow for septic systems. Gravel roads are acceptable in this district. Home businesses and small hobby animal keeping should be allowed.

Single Family Residential

This district is for smaller, single-family lots connected to city services and located on paved roads with sidewalks. Townhomes or duplexes may be allowed, but the number of lots per acre should be between 4 and 6 dwelling units per acre.

Mixed Residential

This district focuses on a walkable mix of housing types, allowing for diversity of housing products and pricing while maintaining a neighborhood feel. Single family units should be limited to 6 per acre, duplexes to 3 per acre, townhomes to 12 per acre, and apartment buildings to 6 apartments per building, with no more than 12 units per acre. The maximum average density of this district should be 8 dwelling units per acre. Any apartment units should be small in scale, mixed into the overall housing mix, rather than concentrated into one area.

Downtown Commercial

This district should focus on walkable, dense commercial structures, focused on retail and office use types, including restaurants and bars. The outlined areas on the future land use map line County Road 4, close to the new EPAC, and forming an easy walkway from the High School to the EPAC. The intent of this district is to provide a cultural identifier for the City of Colfax to outside visitors who are travelling to and from Interstate 29. Parking lots should be located to the rear of buildings and should have shared parking between businesses. Street frontages should be walkable, with transparent windows, varied building facades, wide sidewalks protected from the road with landscaping and boulevards, and pedestrian scale lighting. This would be an ideal district to pair with an arts initiative, as well as an area to provide for outdoor cafe seating and easy street-building interfaces. Landscaping should be abundant and incentivize traffic to slow and even stop to peruse. Second story apartments should be encouraged and incentivized.

Commercial

This district allows for more suburban style commercial development, with paved parking lots and retail, restaurant, and office uses. Shared parking should be utilized where possible. Industrial/large commercial area

Industrial

This district allows for industrial uses. Because Colfax is geographically compact, industrial uses should still minimize impacts to air and noise quality, and should prioritize general health, safety, and welfare. Gravel parking lots and roads are acceptable in this district. Tall monopole business signs should be avoided.

Community Goals

GOAL: Increase attainable housing supply

The community focus groups, one-on-one meetings, and Project Advisory Committee all noted that there was a dire need for additional housing in Colfax. Specifically, they identified a need for housing that, if not affordable, was attainable to individuals who could not afford or did not want large homes on large lots. The community noted the need for smaller homes at an attainable price point that were still built with quality and good design.

The City should focus on attracting attainable housing development to Colfax, utilizing tools laid out in any updated zoning code and the future land use map as well as financing options laid out in the remainder of this plan.

GOAL: Increase number of active businesses in Colfax

The community focus groups, one-on-one meetings, and Project Advisory Committee also all noted that there is additional business opportunity in Colfax. The current service-based businesses operate for limited hours, in limited capacity, and serve a limited audience.

The community should lean into the opportunity created by the construction of the Event and Performing Art Center and attract businesses to the community who can serve visitors and partner with the type of events likely to be held there. A focus should be put on attracting small businesses, potentially by creating a business incubator area. In addition to the EPAC center, there are a number of more craft-focused, rural-minded, businesses in the area with which to partner and draw tourism to Colfax. Partnering with the Great Northern Trail board, the Dakota Vines Vineyard, and Crooked Lane Farms could yield economic development such as an urban tasting room or a bakery, or a hospitality focused venture such as a hotel or a bed and breakfast. Economic development could look further afield as well, with partnerships with collaboratives like UnGlued, located in Fargo, which has held events at Crooked Lane Farms.

Future Infrastructure Needs

This plan identifies a number of long-term infrastructure improvements that are vital to maintain the desired growth of the City of Colfax. These improvements are large scale and will be expensive. The City should invest in a full Feasibility Study and Cost of Services Study, as well as a Capital Improvements Plan, in order to determine the best route to finance and fund these improvements. The planning team has reviewed on a high level those needs and options below, but the scope of these improvements is beyond the ability of this plan to review in depth. The most pressing needs identified are a new sewer lagoon cell, water reservoir expansion and street paving.

GOAL: Upsize sewer lagoon capacity

With continued growth likely for Colfax, the city’s sewage system will need to be studied to determine its ability to handle new growth and to identify potential lagoon expansion.

A Feasibility Study for cost estimates and to determine how much additional capacity is needed should be conducted.

In conjunction with a feasibility study, a rate study should also be conducted to help plan for costs. The North Dakota League of Cities conducted a survey in 2022 to gather sewer rates from several ND cities. (https://www.ndlc.org/Archive/ViewFile/Item/114). Many cities in North Dakota have water and sewer rates that are well below the affordability criteria as determined by a city’s median household income. A rate study will provide detailed information regarding how Colfax’s rates compare and recommendations for any rate adjustments that may be necessary.

Rate studies are important as they will assist in determining if your utilities are operating as enterprise funds that are self-sustaining. This is one of the criteria that determines eligibility for State Revolving Fund loans and loan-forgiveness.

The current lagoons have a design capacity of 18.69 acre-feet, with a maximum capacity of 20.45 acre-feet.

With a full build out of Colfax Meadows and other vacant platted lots in the city, the city would need capacity for approximately 27 acre-feet. This does not include other areas of potential future land use, which would drive up capacity needs further.

A new sewage lagoon will be a significant cost for the City; however, the city will reach the current system’s capacity with full build out of existing platted lots. A lagoon expansion project will likely be needed in the next 5-10 years. Rough estimates for lagoon expansion range from $40,000 to $50,000 per acre-foot of new lagoon. At full build out of existing lots, an additional 7 acre-feet of lagoon expansion would be needed, at a range of $280,000 to $350,000. However, it should be noted that these estimates are planning-level only; actual costs may differ significantly.

Funding for a lagoon expansion may be available from Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), a part of the ND State Revolving Fund (SRF). CWSRF Information This program offers below-market rate loans for project financing, with a current rate of 2%. A select number of projects may also be eligible for loan forgiveness. USDA-Rural Development USDA-RD Funding as well as Community Development Block Grants CDBG Funding may also serve as a funding source for this project. More information can be found under funding.

GOAL: Expand Water Reservoir

A Feasibility Study was completed in 2023 to look at the existing water reservoir and provide recommendations on expanding the reservoir to meet the growing needs of the community (Report here).The existing reservoir has a 35,000 gallon capacity, which is sufficient for the existing platted lots within the City of Colfax. The City of Colfax buys their water from South East Rural Water and has a contract on how much water is to be supplied. The Feasibility study states that an increase in the amount of water supplied by South East Rural Water will be needed. Renegotiating this agreement should be a priority for the City. To accommodate future growth, the City should also begin planning a reservoir expansion in the next 3-5 years.

GOAL: Pave all commercial and residential roads

A recurring theme heard from the citizens of Colfax was a need for updated infrastructure, including paving of streets. Currently, only County Road 4 is paved. Citizens raised concerns about maintenance, construction traffic, bike and pedestrian safety, and the ability to attract new families and development to Colfax with the predominance of gravel roads. Paving the roads in Colfax should be a priority for the City. This will allow for bike and pedestrian traffic to more easily utilize the street right of way in places where it is not possible to retrofit a sidewalk or multi-use path.

In new development areas, the City should collaborate with the developer and either require the developer to put in appropriately sized and designed paved roads, or to create a funding mechanism such as a special assessment district to finance paved roads.

In existing neighborhoods, community input should be sought before determining order of pavement. The special assessment process will allow for additional community consideration and hearings.

A Preliminary Engineering Report should be done and will lay out all maintenance expectations and projected costs.

Paving roads comes with several challenges, including:

Funding infrastructure improvements: There are several routes to fund street improvements. These can include bonding, special assessments, and grants, or a combination of these. More information can be found under Funding.
Performance of regular maintenance: The City should review options for regular maintenance, which could include hiring a full-time maintenance staff and storage of snow removal equipment or could include contracting with private maintenance firms on a yearly basis. Regular maintenance is essential.
Funding of ongoing maintenance: Regular operations should be funded by the City’s operational budget. This can be supplemented via sales tax and property tax.

Thompson, ND, a city of about 1,000 people, had no paved city streets. ND State Highway 15 was paved. The city brought the issue to residents several times before voters approved the first paving project in 2009. Subsequent projects in 2012, 2013, and 2015 finally converted the city’s gravel streets to pavement. The projects were paid for with bonds and repaid with special assessments. Streets in already established neighborhoods were paved without curb and gutter. New additions’ streets are built with curb and gutter.

Thompson Paving Projects

2009: $565k Bond, $11,771 assessed per lot in the 48-lot district. About .7 miles paved.
2012: $1.5 million Bond. About 2.3 miles paved.
2013: $1.2 million Bond. About 2 miles paved.
2015: $570k Bond. About .4 miles paved, including curb and gutter.

GOAL: Utilize Parks District to fullest extent

The Parks District is a formalized park district as allowed by North Dakota Century Code Section 40-49. It appears that the Park Board is not fully utilizing their allowed abilities. The Park Board should look to collaborate with developers to require land dedication, accept land for parks, levy taxes, and bond for improvements. Currently, the pool and park, which are the resounding community touchpoint, along with the school, are operated in a volunteer capacity, other than some seasonal employees. Fully utilizing the park district rights would allow the district to nimbly respond to future challenges and ensure sustainability of the park district.

The community noted that the baseball fields are extremely important to the community. The Project Advisory Committee also recognized that the location of the baseball fields may meet a standard of higher and better use as a commercial business. With any future development proposals, the Parks District should look to acquire land to relocate the baseball fields if necessary.

GOAL: Create Operations and Maintenance Plan

The City should create an operations and maintenance plan, which could look like a Capital Improvements Plan. This should include hiring needs and budget evaluation for general City operations, including snow removal, sidewalk maintenance, vector control, employee needs and benefits, and street paving needs. One of the major challenges the City faces is the lack of full-time employees to assist in City operations such as permitting and financials, as well as general public works maintenance. This plan should address the level of growth that would necessitate hiring additional assistance.

Policy Recommendations

POLICY: Create Standard Subdivision Improvement Requirements

To maintain an expected level of development that is standardized and anticipated by both the City and a developer, the City should create and publish a standard subdivision improvement requirements document. This should include requirements for paved roads in urban residential and commercial subdivisions, sidewalk and trail connectivity, street lighting and trees, and standard water, sewer, and stormwater requirements. This subdivision improvement document should also note design specifications for each of the infrastructure improvements as well as any financing or cost share allowances that the City may consider.

This document should also work in coordination with any updated zoning ordinance to further the goals of the future land use plan, including the use of landscaping through all zones to assist in maintaining the rural feel of Colfax.

POLICY: Create Design Standards Document

To maintain an expected level of building and site design, as well as to further the goals of strategic densification, the City should create a Design Standards document for commercial and residential development. This document should include requirements for commercial zones including building materials, building orientation and site design, as well as any requirements for residential buildings, which could address parking and driveway designs, garage placement, roof styles, etc. This document should also address landscaping requirements.

POLICY: Provide incentives for multifamily/townhome housing and projects which ensure housing affordability and accessibility

The City may be able to utilize funds through the Job Development Authority (JDA) to provide financial incentives for multifamily and townhome development. There are several other funding agencies which the City should create relationships with, including the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency and North Dakota Department of Commerce.

Federal Programs:

Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

HOME Investment Partnerships Program

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loans

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Loans

State of North Dakota Programs:

North Dakota Housing Finance Agency

Housing Incentive Fund (HIF)

The State of North Dakota Department of Commerce administers the Renaissance Zone program, which provides tax abatements for specified projects. This is a program that is individualized to each city in the state. It requires the creation of a Renaissance Zone plan in partnership with Commerce and can be customized to the individual needs of Colfax. Colfax does not currently utilize the Renaissance Zone but could leverage a zone to focus on re-development of older homes. This could include building density into those older homes with townhome or duplex conversions. There are multiple examples of small communities within the state who use the Renaissance Zone to assist in incentivizing housing redevelopment. Underwood, ND is a particularly aggressive example of a community who has utilized a strong Renaissance Zone.

The City should consider waiving water, sewer, and/or building permit fees for residential new builds which will assist in the goals of housing affordability or accessibility. This could include single family homes on lots of ¼ acre or less, duplexes, townhomes, or apartments.

Methods to ensure housing affordability:

Allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) by-right on every residentially zoned parcel in Colfax.
Introduce lot size maximums in appropriate zoning districts.
Introduce dwelling unity density minimums in appropriate zoning districts.
Accompany any zoning regulations intended to increase residential unit densities with a removal or reduction of off-street parking requirements.
Do not designate only one neighborhood in Colfax for smaller or more affordable dwelling units, as this will stigmatize residents living in such a neighborhood and cause them to view themselves as “other.” Minimize perceived negative impacts of smaller, more affordable dwelling units by incorporating such housing types into existing neighborhoods of varied housing size and valuation. Retaining a positive perspective of affordable housing in the community is crucial for ensuring sustained public support for lower priced dwelling units.
Adopt a collection of pre-approved building plans that will create affordable dwelling units, such as smaller, attached single-family homes or duplexes designed to imitate the existing aesthetic of single-family neighborhoods. Pre-approved plans expedite the building permit application process, thereby reducing administrative costs for the developer/builder.

POLICY: Actively recruit new service-based businesses to Colfax.

The City should work with the JDA or other local economic development organizations in the region to determine how to best attract additional service-based businesses to the community. This could potentially include working with a marketing partner in the Fargo-Moorehead area to market the town to the regional business community as a business-friendly location.

The City should update any economic development strategy documents to reflect the reality of the new EPAC, and to create strategies to build local businesses from that audience. This strategy could also include developing incentives for business relocation or creation in Colfax. The Renaissance Zone, noted above as an incentive for residential development, could also be used for commercial redevelopment of older structures such as homes along County 4, or the old Bank.

POLICY: Update Zoning Code

The City should invest in an updated zoning code which brings the code to a more modern code structure and matches the actual uses in Colfax. The updated zoning code should include development standards, density allowances, infrastructure design standards, subdivision requirements, and use allowances. This code should also include parking lot paving and landscaping requirements, to assist in furthering the goals of the future land use plan to maintain the rural feel of Colfax. This updated code will allow Colfax to enforce regulations which are in line with the current vision of the City and will create predictability, which residents and developers appreciate and can utilize. These regulations do not need to be extremely prescriptive but should allow for the type of development the community has noted as a goal.

POLICY: Update City Codes

The City should update all City Codes in order to bring them into a modern era. This code update should accommodate the reality of the City as a small community with an agricultural focus and should not be overly burdensome to the community or council. These codes should be updated with assistance from the City Attorney and in coordination with the adoption of a Home Rule Charter.

POLICY: Adopt a Home Rule Charter

In accordance with the North Dakota Century Code 40-05.1 North Dakota Century Code t40c05.1 (ndlegis.gov), the City of Colfax should adopt a Home Rule Charter. This will allow the City to charge sales tax, localize ordinances, buy, and sell property, and issue bonds, among other benefits. The North Dakota League of Cities has an excellent resource on home rule charters authored by Lies, Bulles & Hatting, LPPL, linked here: Home Rule (ndlc.org). Adopting a home rule charter will have numerous benefits, including providing additional tools to prepare and provide for incoming development.

POLICY: Continue the process of becoming a Main Street Champion Community

In addition to the recommendations below, the City of Colfax should become a Main Street Champion Community. as many ND grant programs include this in their scoring criteria. This is a relatively straightforward process and can have a significant impact on grant awards. Become a Main Street Community

Funding Sources & Partnerships

See below for specific grants guidance.

Richland County JDA

JDA – Richland County, North Dakota

Local Crafters

Vibrancy Grant Program (nd.gov)

AARP

Grant Opportunities from AARP Foundation

American Trails

Apply for The Trails Capacity Program - American Trails

ND Department of Commerce

Rural Slum and Blight Removal Grant

USDA Rural Development

Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program in North Dakota | Rural Development (usda.gov)

ND SRF (Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF)

State Revolving Fund | Public Finance Authority, North Dakota

ND Community Block Development Grant

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) (nd.gov)

Additional Potential Funding Resources based on Area of need:

Arts & Tourism: ND Council on the Arts

Arts & Tourism: ND Department of Commerce

Arts & Tourism: ND Tourism

Culture & Recreation: State Historical Society of ND

Economic Development: ND Department of Commerce

Economic Development: ND Public Finance Authority

Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants Program NDDOT

Infrastructure: ND Department of Environmental Quality

Infrastructure: ND Department of Transportation

Natural Resources: ND Forest Service

Natural Resources: Outdoor Heritage Fund

Key Considerations for Funding:

When seeking project funding, it is important to note that many funding sources prioritize projects that are “shovel-ready”, meaning that all the engineering, design and permitting is in place so that project bidding and subsequent construction can commence immediately following the award of funds.

Many funding sources require a pre-application process prior to applying for the funding. These processes have strict timelines requiring careful planning to ensure deadlines are met.

Many funding sources allow funding awards to be combined or “layered” with other funding awards to create a comprehensive funding package. This can allow communities to pursue large projects that would otherwise have proven challenging to pursue due to financial constraints.

Funding awards typically require significant administration to ensure that all the proper reporting is completed, and all deadlines are met. This is a critical step to ensure that the community receives the funds that were awarded while also preserving their eligibility for future funding awards.

Funding Implementation:

Implementing funding for sewer and water follows a specific process, detailed below:

Feasibility study
Rate study
Complete Preliminary Engineering Report for first project on city's project priority list
Evaluate available funding sources and schedule phone calls with funding partners to discuss project. The State of ND has created a useful tool for assisting small communities in this process: Small Water System Infrastructure Funding Guide
Begin funding application process for selected funding sources.
- - For the State Revolving Fund (SRF), a pre-application process is required through the SRF Tracker to get on the Project Priority List (PPL). The Project Priority List (PPL) is an ordered ranking of all eligible SRF projects. It is a component of the Intended Use Plan (IUP) and is prepared by the SRF program as part of the capitalization grant application. A memo will be sent via email to city officials and consulting engineers to request questionnaires for potential projects.
    1. 1. The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) program sends out its announcement in August with an October submission deadline. DWSRF Questionnaire
      2. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program will send its request for questionnaires in October with a December submission deadline. CWSRF Questionnaire
      3. A new list is created every year, and potential loan recipients and interested parties must submit a questionnaire (an update is required each year) in order to be placed on or stay on the list.
      4. Once a questionnaire is submitted and the project is placed on the priority list then an application can be created. Project should be ready to bid and be shovel-ready at the time the application is submitted.
      5. Create ND.gov login if needed and email ndsrf@nd.gov to get access to SRF Tracker.
      6. Begin application in SRF Tracker.
      7. Create a tracking schedule to ensure all deadlines are met for funding.
      8. Finalize and submit funding applications.

Implementation

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