Local businesses, council debate tax‑incentive use as Northridge hearing set for July

A local business owner urged the Grand Forks City Council on June 16 to tighten scrutiny of tax‑incentive agreements after describing how amenity packages in new developments could undercut existing businesses.

Andrew Kralnick, owner of Albatross Indoor Golf Club, told council members he supports free‑market competition but said his business would be harmed if tax‑subsidized developments add amenities such as golf simulators. "I am 100% in favor of the free market and anyone having the right to compete," Kralnick said, "What I do not support is forcing existing businesses to compete with new or expanded tax incentivized businesses." He asked the city to make non‑compete limits binding in incentive agreements.

Why it matters: Council members heard conflicting concerns between encouraging housing and development and protecting existing merchants from subsidized competition. City staff and the city attorney explained statutory and enforcement limits and noted the public notice and hearing process is the primary mechanism for affected competitors to raise concerns.

City attorney staff explained North Dakota incentive law requires consideration of potential impacts on existing businesses and that interested businesses should use the published public‑notice process to register objections. City staff said enforcing a private non‑compete covenant within every PILOT or incentive agreement would be difficult to monitor and could create enforcement challenges for the city.

Council action: The council set a public hearing for the Northridge construction tax‑incentive application for July 21. Several council members reiterated they are open to public input and that the statutory review process includes competitive impact considerations; one council member said amenities within apartment projects are typically limited to residents rather than open commercial space.

Broader context: Andrew Kralnick named other pending projects that have pre‑application approvals, including proposals referred to as Greenview Living and The Domain; he quoted North Dakota Century Code 40‑57.1, which directs political subdivisions to "give due weight to their impact and effect upon existing industry and business" to avoid giving unfair advantage to new enterprises.

Quotes: "If they include golf simulators ... then it would most certainly be to the substantial detriment of existing enterprises," Kralnick said. The city attorney told council members that the process allows competitors to appear and challenge incentives during public hearings and that monitoring private amenity mixes would be difficult to enforce contractually.

Next steps: The Northridge application was advanced to set a hearing date. Staff said proponents and opponents will have additional opportunities to present evidence and testimony at the July 21 public hearing, after which the council may decide whether to approve, deny or condition any incentive.