At a work session Dec. 10, City of Dickinson staff presented three zoning-related proposals for Planning and Zoning Commission feedback: an industrial off-street parking text amendment, proposed changes to rezone/SUP notice requirements, and a draft short-term rental licensing framework.

Industrial parking: Natalie Burchak said the proposed amendment (City Code Sec. 62-592, item B, section 4) would permit crushed concrete or similar material for rear-yard vehicle circulation areas in LI/GI districts only if approved by the city administrator or designee, but would explicitly prohibit crushed scoria, dirt or other high-debris materials as finished surfacing. The amendment would also require a paved entrance (about 50 feet from the right-of-way) or equivalent means to catch gravel or sediment before entering the public right-of-way to reduce maintenance issues.

Notice-by-petition: Staff alerted commissioners to a municipal-code provision requiring applicants to secure signatures of owners within 200 feet as a notice-by-petition and recommended removing that language. Burchak said the petition requirement has not been enforced in recent years, creates a substantial hardship (a single missing or dissenting signature can block a rezone from reaching a public hearing) and differs from practices in Bismarck, Williston and Grand Forks, which rely on newspaper publication and mailed notice. Commissioners discussed aligning city practice with Century Code minimums and flagged an additional related protest-petition provision that staff will analyze as a January work-session item.

Short-term rentals: Burchak presented a first draft zoning text amendment to define and permit short-term rentals (single-structure units with five or fewer guest rooms, ten or fewer occupants, guests staying fewer than 28 days). The draft would allow short-term rentals in residential districts (R-1, R-2, R-3), mobile-home and downtown commercial zones with a license administered by Community Development. Proposed requirements include an application packet with house rules and maximum-occupancy limits, deed showing the applicant as deed holder (owner-occupied requirement), a 24/7 primary contact, a list of other short-term rental interests the applicant holds, an emergency plan and proof of smoke/CO detectors. Staff proposed a $100 annual license fee, yearly renewal in January and a two-license maximum per entity; license revocation would bar reapplication for six months.

Commissioners offered questions and preliminary support in several areas and asked staff to return with formal ordinance language for the January meeting.