Sec 37-334. Designation of lands; development or secondary plan; requirements; approval

A. The commissioner may designate certain urban lands as suitable for a development plan. The designation may be made only for lands for which a state general plan has been approved under section 37-332, or a conceptual plan has been developed pursuant to section 37-331.03. The designation shall specify the boundaries of the urban lands and that a development plan is to be prepared for those lands.

B. After designating certain urban lands as suitable for a development plan, the commissioner may cause a development or secondary plan to be prepared. The development or secondary plan may be submitted to the department, after a development planning permit or secondary planning permit is issued, or may be prepared by a planning contract to the lowest and best bidder, with monies appropriated by the legislature for the purpose of urban lands development planning. A secondary planning permit is a planning permit issued for a parcel or parcels of state land that have not yet been disposed of to prepare a secondary plan which supplements and implements an approved development plan.

C. The development or secondary plan shall contain specific provisions for the use, development and management of the urban lands in accordance with the state general plan as approved under section 37-332.

D. The development or secondary plan shall contain provisions as are necessary to implement the purposes of this section, including:

1. Provisions for allocation and location of specific uses of the land, including residential, commercial, industrial, recreational or other appropriate uses.

2. Provisions for acceptable densities and concentrations of the designated land uses.

3. Provisions for the timing and rate of development.

4. Provisions for the delivery of an adequate or assured water supply as specified in title 45, chapter 1 or 2.

5. Provisions for public facilities and resources, including water supply delivery systems, wastewater collection and treatment systems, parks and public recreational facilities, school sites, roads and other elements of a transportation system and other necessary facilities and services.

6. Provisions for needed zoning and other land use control mechanisms.

7. Provisions for resource conservation and the use of alternate sources of energy.

8. Other provisions deemed relevant by the commissioner.

E. To the extent the proposed development plan would require zoning inconsistent with any existing zoning, the commissioner shall submit a request to the local government with jurisdiction over the lands in question for either rezoning consistent with the development plan or approval of a land use plan pursuant to statute or ordinance that would include designations of proposed zoning categories and land use intensity and that would be consistent with the development plan. The local government shall act upon the request within six months, notifying the commissioner as to the acceptance or rejection of the commissioner's request for rezoning or plan approval. Rejection of a request for rezoning or plan approval may, at the commissioner's discretion, be appealed in the manner provided to any owner of land affected by a zoning decision. The local government's zoning decision shall govern the use of the lands unless the commissioner determines that such zoning or plan is detrimental to the interests of the trust. If the commissioner so determines, the commissioner shall prepare a written statement of the reasons for the determination and shall within ten days of such decision provide a copy of the written statement to the local planning authority. The local government within whose jurisdiction the lands are located has thirty days from receipt of this statement to appeal the commissioner's decision to the board of appeals as provided for in section 37-215. If the local government fails to act upon the commissioner's request for rezoning or plan approval within the time provided in this subsection, the commissioner may adopt the development plan, noting that the requested rezoning or plan approval has not been obtained from the local government. The commissioner may, after compliance with the requirements of section 37-335, reclassify the lands and proceed with their sale or lease, noting in the call for bids that the requested rezoning or plan approval has not been obtained.

F. The commissioner shall not approve the development or secondary plan until the director of water resources has either evaluated the plans for an adequate water supply for the proposed development of lands outside a groundwater active management area as required by section 45-108 or has certified that there is an assured water supply for the proposed development of lands in a groundwater active management area as required by section 45-576.

G. Following approval of the development plan by the commissioner, no amendment or revision may be made without approval by the commissioner. The commissioner may approve a proposed amendment or revision of the development plan only if it is consistent with the state general plan or conceptual plan or after complying with the requirements prescribed under section 37-332, subsections E, F and G.

H. Following approval of a secondary plan by the commissioner, no amendment or revision may be made without the commissioner's approval. After notice to the development planning permittee, if one exists, and any master property association for the affected development plan, the commissioner may approve a proposed amendment of the secondary plan only if it is consistent with the development plan. If the proposed amendment is inconsistent with the development plan, the development plan must be amended under subsection G of this section.

I. If the land included in a development or secondary plan was previously sold or leased, and the plan amendment proposed by the owner or lessee would substantially increase the value of the land as estimated by an appraisal or would compete with land uses elsewhere on land included under the plan, then as a condition for approving the amendment, the commissioner may require additional consideration.