Lawmakers reject studying Black Hills growth

PIERRE—The Black Hills region of South Dakota has seen a surge of new residents and visitors in recent years, sparking a debate in the state legislature over how to manage this growth while preserving the area’s unique character and natural beauty.

The discussion at the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee centered around a resolution, HCR 6010, introduced by District 31 Republican Representative Scott Odenbach who lives in Spearfish. The resolution called for establishing an interim legislative committee to evaluate existing laws and development in the Black Hills and recommend appropriate regulatory provisions.

Proponents of the resolution argued that the rapid influx of new residents, vacation homes, and economic development projects are threatening the solitude, environmental health, and historic character of the Black Hills.

Odenbach cited concerns from local residents about rising property taxes, strained infrastructure, and the potential for overdevelopment turning the region into an “overcrowded mountain town. People have said to me over and over at meetings or cracker barrels, ‘do something,’” Odenbach told the committee. “We need to pause and reflect for a bit on whether we’re headed in the right direction, before we just let things take their course.”

Supporters of the resolution, including Rapid City resident District 34 Republican Senator Taffy Howard, said not only is it “God’s country,” but she emphasized the Black Hills’ status as a “crown jewel” of South Dakota that deserves careful stewardship for future generations. She argued an interim study would give citizens a voice in shaping the region’s long-term future. “The resolution is simply acknowledging how special the Black Hills are and asking that we have an interim study to allow our citizens to bring forward what they’d like to see in the Hills in twenty, thirty, fifty plus years from now.”

Howard said when she was campaigning the number one criticism she heard from voters of then-Governor Kristi Noem was “just tell her to stop begging people to move here.” She said the people are tired of feeling as though the government is in control. “They want to be in charge of their community’s growth and their future.”

Howard said that Peter Norbeck, the state’s first governor born in South Dakota, had designed the pigtails on the Needles Highway so people driving through would have to drive slowly. “You’re not supposed to drive 60 miles an hour. A lot of our citizens feel like government is forcing us to drive 60 miles an hour when we want to get out and walk.”

However, opponents pushed back, arguing the resolution does undermine local control and the ability of county and municipal governments to manage growth through existing comprehensive planning processes.

Visit Rapid City board member and Chair of Appropriations District 34 Republican Representative Mike Derby from Rapid City warned the resolution could open the floodgates for similar requests for state-level studies on growth in other regions. “Now everybody who wants a summer study is going to introduce a resolution. So, let’s just stick to the current process.” He said the Legislative Research Council is currently asking for summer study topics.

“The best decisions are made at the local level and county government is about as local as you can get,” said Eric Jennings, a Lawrence County Commissioner. He pointed to the county’s long history of zoning regulations, land use planning, and public input as evidence that local leaders are effectively balancing development and conservation. “Peter Norbeck was my great grandfather,” said Jennings. “He saw the need for conservation, but he also saw the potential for economic development in the Black Hills.”

He said the resolution seeks to form a committee of legislators outside of the Black Hills to evaluate the regulatory provisions. “I can only believe this is an attempt to limit economic development and residential growth and extractive uses in the name of historical preservation and environmental health factors.” Jennings said these are already protected through regulations and permitting.

Other opponents, including representatives from the mining, tourism, and real estate industries, expressed concerns that the resolution could lead to new restrictions on economic activity in the Black Hills.

Pete Lien said this bill would hurt his mining business. “I’m third generation in our family business.” Lien explained that his mining business is more than just gravel. “Our company, our family business, was awarded the EPA birth care award. Only mining company to ever get that. Robert Redford gave us the award.”  Pete Lien & Sons received that award in 1980. “So, we share the love and desire to keep the Black Hills beautiful and be good corporate citizens.” But what he was most concerned about was the collateral damage to his family business.

Other opponents pointed to lack of housing and efforts to keep young people here. District 32 Republican Representative Steve Duffy who had previously voted on the House floor in favor of the bill efforted to explain why he now opposed the bill. He too expressed his belief that outsiders would be making the decisions. “I don’t know if this is the right environment. Fact is, as I’ve looked at it, it isn’t the right environment, but we do need to have a conversation, because what you worry about, and what I said, is there’s no chance of a South Dakotan going to outbid an out of state person who is further in their career for the limited housing that we have.” He said that Denver and Minneapolis have taken “our best and brightest for 100 years. My goal is South Dakotans first and foremost, if somebody is from here and they understand us and they want to stay, if we can help them stay, I think that’s fantastic. Now we need growth.”

Garth Wadsworth from Elevate Rapid City explained that there has been a decrease in housing inventory and a significant increase in housing prices. “This is a free country and there’s nothing we can do to stop people from moving here and to further restrict the supply of housing would have resulted in steeper increase in housing prices in the last five years had we not done anything to address that.”

He said efforts to restrict new development in the Black Hills will drive up property taxes. “If we accept the premise that it’s a free country, there’s nothing we can do to stop people from moving here, then we have to recognize that policies to slow and constrain growth are the policies that will turns us into California and the Front Range, not the other way around.”

(Contact Marnie Cook at cookm8715@gmail.com)

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