Last updated on 2016.01.04
House Bill 1118 is small potatoes, but I see one potentially amusing local result.
HB 1118 addresses the overlapping extra-municipal zoning boundaries. Currently, when South Dakota towns pass a comprehensive plan for their streets and zoning and other development issues, they get veto power over zoning and platting on land adjoining the town within a three-mile radius. For instance, when my folks applied to hook up to Kingbrook Rural Water, they had to get permission from the Madison City Commission, since their house on the western shore of Lake Herman is not quite three miles from Madison's western city limit.
Now if you have two municipalities with boundaries within six miles of each other, as between Sioux Falls and Brandon, those three-mile zones would overlap. Current statute says that if two towns with population 500 or more (first- or second-class municipalities) cast such an overlap, "the jurisdiction of each municipality terminates at a boundary line equidistant from the respective corporate limits of the municipalities" unless voters in both towns agree otherwise. HB 1118 simply amends this statute to include towns with population under 500 (third-class municipalities).
As I doodle with radii on the map, I find that change could cause Flandreau to cede a little extra-municipal zoning authority to its southwesterly neighbors in Egan. HB 1118 may cause a similar power shift from Madison to Prairie Village.
Prairie Village? Yes, our tractor museum is more than just a tourist attraction; Prairie Village is its own municipality---third-class, I suspect, since the permanent population is only 10... and that's when the skunks move in. That municipal status is why the Lake Herman Sanitary District doesn't get to assess it any taxes and why the Village can set a lot of its own rules.
Now check out this map, which plots a three-mile radius from the western edge of Madison (green) and a comparable three-mile radius from the center of Prairie Village:
We probably need some calculus to plot a more accurate optimal boundary between the actual municipal limits. But if Prairie Village were to adopt some sort of comprehensive plan, that red line bisecting the Madison--Prairie Village overlap would delineate the two areas of extra-municipal authority. Prairie Village could box Madison out of zoning authority over pretty much all of Lake Herman except for Dirks' Resort.
Gee, maybe Larry Dirks could get his central sewer from Madison....
The founders of Prairie Village had a lot of foresight or else good legal advice. Does Prairie Village charge a municipal sales tax? If not they should. It would help pay for improvements to the facility.
As always, that's officer thinking, Nick! Prairie Village does not take advantage of its taxing authority. If 30,000 people come for Jamboree and spend $20 each on ice cream and flea market treasures, a 1% muni tax would add $6000 to the Village coffers. That would pay for another summer maintenance worker, or a lot of paint and shingles for buildings.
I'm sure most folks wouldn't care, and would actually support an additional tax on goods sold at Prairie Village, with those proceeds going to help maintain and continue the mission of the organization. Seems like a natural fit for their efforts, and could really help fill in some of their basic operational needs.
I wonder what else could become a municipality...
I think a penny sales tax would be a great idea for Prairie Village. Do any of those board members read this blog? Nobody misses a penny here and there and it would be a great source of always needed revenue for a wonderful Madison attraction.