Introduction

This plan was created in the Spring of 2024 in order to provide Colfax with a guidebook for future development pressure. In ColfaxNow, the plan reviews the history and existing conditions of Colfax, including detailing the development pressure faced by the community from the nearby growth of Fargo and Wahpeton. It includes a discussion of the status of infrastructure in the community, as well as the planning process. In ColfaxNext, a series of goals and policies are laid out and an implementation timetable is developed.

The goals and policies detailed below are intended to guide the leaders and community of Colfax into the future.

A comprehensive plan is a city’s roadmap for the future. It supports ordinances, establishes investment and regulation priorities, and prompts subsequent plans and studies. The plan also provides transparency and predictability for government objectives in the community, supplying residents with a clearly defined vision for the city’s future and an opportunity for public input to determine the city’s goals and objectives. Per North Dakota law, a comprehensive plan is also a prerequisite for zoning regulations, ensuring the city’s ability to determine land uses in a manner reflective of community priorities.

North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) §40-48-02 defines the purpose of the comprehensive plan: “The official master plan is declared to be established to conserve and promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the municipality.” No other document absolutely addresses the ambitions, ideas, and needs of a community as the comprehensive plan; realization of the guidance it provides for municipal leadership is therefore essential for a city’s future successes.

The adopted comprehensive plan will serve as a roadmap for future priorities, policies, regulations, and projects. Its guidance is intentionally broad; as a non-regulatory document, it is important that the elements of the plan—the result of input from citizens, elected and appointed officials, city staff, business owners, and developers—reflect the wide range of priorities found in the community. Future decisions on city policies and regulations will refer to the vision of this Comprehensive Plan, using it as a benchmark for guidance and direction.

A comprehensive plan’s influence extends far beyond the period of public input, drafting, revision, publication, and adoption to which it is subject: the goals and objectives of the plan will provide years of guidance for city officials and city staff in all departments.

This Comprehensive Plan will:

• Establish a vision reflective of community priorities, ambitions, and interests.

• Provide guidance for future land use, zoning, and subdivision regulations, as well as other land use management tools like district design standards.

• Steer new development to the best locations and ensure the pattern of such development is appropriate, predictable, and sustainable.

• Identify characteristics of Colfax which contribute to its strengths and establish a framework for capitalizing on such strengths.

• Practically assess opportunities for improvement in the city.

The Comprehensive Plan should be perceived and treated as a document in need of constant reflection and amendment. A quality plan changes over time to better reflect the vision of the community.

Generally, a plan outlines topics that are most important to the residents of the town. With that in mind, this plan reviews the current status of Colfax, including infrastructure, land use, and economic development. It then turns to the future of Colfax, with recommendations pertaining to land use, infrastructure, and economic development. Through it all, the mission and vision of Colfax determined by the Project Advisory Committee remain at the heart.