AGO 96-F-003.

• Court: North Dakota

North Dakota Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 96-F-003. STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINION 96-F-03Date Issued: February 27, 1996Requested by: Representative James Boehm- QUESTIONS PRESENTED - I.Whether a city may regulate unimproved or gravel parking lots and prohibit driving vehicles from such a parking lot to a paved street without a permit. II.Whether the status of a roadway within a city as part of the state highway system or the interstate or national highway system prohibits city regulation of traffic upon that roadway. III.Whether a city may compel a property owner to pave a parking lot.- ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OPINIONS - I. It is my opinion that a city may regulate unimproved or gravel parking lots and restrict direct access from an unimproved or gravel parking lot onto a hard surfaced paved street or road within that city's jurisdiction. II. It is my further opinion that a city may regulate traffic upon a roadway within the city's jurisdiction which is part of the state highway system or the interstate or national highway system, except that speed limits must be set with the consent of the director of the State Department of Transportation. III. It is my further opinion that a city may require a property owner to pave a parking lot without compensation to protect the public's health, safety, morals, or welfare with certain restrictions. - ANALYSES - I. This opinion involves certain ordinances of the City of Mandan. The Mandan ordinances prohibit driving motor vehicles from unimproved or gravel parking lots to paved roadways within industrial and commercial districts of the city without a permit from the city for each vehicle. Mandan Municipal Code (M.M.C.) §§ 10-07-03, 10-07-04. Although some commercial or industrial businesses could license all vehicles, including those of employees, the practical effect of this ordinance is to require retail businesses to pave their parking lots due to the impossibility of licensing all customers. The purpose of this prohibition is to prevent a public nuisance by motor vehicles which drag dirt, mud, gravel or debris from the parking lot to the paved street because this debris clogs gutters and sewers; increases the cost of street maintenance; creates dangerous conditions which may cause vehicles to skid or be unable to brake quickly; and causes injury to people or property damage to vehicles on the road from thrown gravel. M.M.C. § 10-07-01. Cities are agencies of the state and only have the powers expressly conferred upon them by statute or such as may be necessarily implied from the powers expressly granted. Roeders v. City of Washburn, 298 N.W.2d 779, 782 (N.D. 1980). "In defining a city's powers the rule of strict construction applies and any doubt as to the existence or extent of the powers must be resolved against the city." Id. However, once a city's powers have been determined, the rule of strict construction no longer applies, and except where specifically prescribed by the Legislature, the manner and means of exercising those powers are left to the discretion of the municipal authorities. Haugland v. City of Bismarck, 429...