Renaissance Zone
NORTH DAKOTA RENAISSANCE ZONE
The Fifty-sixth North Dakota Legislative Assembly created the Renaissance Zone Act under N.D.C.C.ch. 40-63 to allow North Dakota cities to apply to the North Dakota Division of community Services to create a Renaissance Zone within their jurisdiction. The Legislation was refined and clarified by the Fifty-seventh Legislative Assembly. A Renaissance Zone may be a defined geographical area of up to 20 contiguous blocks within a continual boundary. The Renaissance Zone encourages investment in properties that need to be revitalized and redeveloped in return for certain types of tax exemptions and credits. Typically located in the central part of the city, a Renaissance Zone must include both commercial and residential properties. The designation can be for up to 15 years in duration.
The ND Renaissance Zone Tax Incentives Guidelines that explains the income and financial institution tax incentives allowed under the legislation can be found at:
http://www.state.nd.us/taxdpt/genpubs/renaissance.pdf
The ND Renaissance Zone Program guidelines can be found at:
http://www.state.nd.us/dcs/comdev/renzone.html
LANGDON RENAISSANCE ZONE
The City of Langdon, in cooperation with the Cavalier County Job Development Authority, first met in August, 2002, to discuss the benefits of a Renaissance Zone. At the time, Cavalier County had just finished a comprehensive Strategic Plan that was part of the application process for the USDA Rural Development Round III Empowerment Zone program. As a result of the process, Cavalier county received a “Champion Community” designation.
During 2003, the community prioritized the projects in the Strategic Plan and entered them in the USDA on-line Benchmark System. As the county seat and the largest community, many of the top projects reflected the need to position Langdon for the future. Also, Langdon recognized its’ leadership role in helping to provide the resources that lead to economic growth, i.e. the Renaissance Zone program.
As 2003 drew to a close, two separate fires affecting five Main Street businesses spurred the community leaders to action. At a community “visioning” session, several immediate initiatives were identified, including the Renaissance Zone application as a top priority. The informal working committee met March 18, 2004, to begin identifying the 20 blocks that would be included in the RZ, and to discuss long term goals that would reflect the local economy, the history and the uniqueness of the Langdon community.
Minutes of the meetings to date:
August, 2002
March 18, 2004
March 25, 2004
April 13, 2004 – Community Information Meeting
The Langdon Renaissance Zone Plan will be added to this site upon completion, estimated to be June, 2004.
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