Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board Set To Dissolve On December 31st

The Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board, a collaboration between Bemidji and Northern Township, will dissolve at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2023.

All zoning and planning requests after that date will be forwarded to the local government serving the property’s location.

For more than ten years, Northern Township and the city of Bemidji have worked together to oversee the zoning and planning of the region.

In 2017 the city of Bemidji left the Greater Bemidji Area Joint Planning Board, and soon after The Northern Township started the dissolution process by announcing its intention to leave the JPB in September 2022.

“Now we’re coming to the end, which means the dissolution actually comes into place December 31st at 11:59 or midnight on the 1st. So those two entities will be separated as that happens. Each respective entity will have to do their own planning and zoning. So the city of Bemidji current staff have been city employees since 2017, but they were JPB worked for the JPB as their staff. So now as the dissolution takes place or comes into its midnight hour, we will be city planning zoning will be just the city Bemidji.” Jamin Carlson said, GBAJB Planning Directory.

After the dissolution, the township and the city will each take over responsibility for planning and zoning in their respective domains, and both are expected to keep and adapt parts of the JPB’s code.

“Well, getting all the information to the township. Like any open permits, planning cases, escrow, all this stuff has to be given to them in a basically like a package because that’s part of the of the dissolution agreement is to make sure we have all of escrow funds” Carlson said.

Northern Township Planning and Zoning will be located at the town hall, at 445 Town Hall Road Northwest, Bemidji.

After the change of ownership, possibly in 2024, the JPB website will be retired and a new webpage for the city’s Planning and Zoning Department will be built once all of the documents have been preserved in the city files.