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Lawmakers press zoning-board nominee on quorum, blight, leases and digital permits
Summary
During a confirmation hearing, members pressed the nominee for the Commonwealth Zoning Board on chronic quorum gaps, a backlog of blighted properties, an expiring office lease and plans to digitize permitting; the committee urged text amendments and interagency coordination.
Lawmakers used a nominee confirmation hearing to press the Commonwealth Zoning Board’s prospective returning member on a string of long-running problems: recurring quorum shortfalls, unclear zoning text, enforcement for blighted properties, an expiring lease and delays caused by manual, paper-based permitting.
Representative Marissa R. Flores asked the nominee how the board will ensure reliable information from the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation before approving major rezonings or subdivisions. The nominee agreed that statutes and interagency coordination need clearer language and said she supports requiring utility sign-off for significant projects. “We should...have one map that addresses the different aspects of living in the CNMI,” she said, endorsing a single shared mapping source for agencies.
Members repeatedly returned to quorum and vacancies. The nominee explained that several seats expired and that the board sometimes lacked members to meet monthly. She said vacancies, rather than frequent unexcused absences, accounted for most missed meetings, and that this constrained the board’s ability to act on permits and to hire an administrator.
On enforcement, the nominee reported that zoning staff identified about 168 blighted properties, posted 45 notices, and secured compliance from 19 owners so far (nine properties were demolished). She said fines had not been imposed and that enforcement officers are carrying heavy caseloads — roughly five officers with about 15 active cases each.
Members and the vice chair urged modernization: adopt a digital permitting system, consider conditional permits when full review will take longer than statutory time limits, and invest in staff training. The nominee said the board has prototyped an app and supports hiring a third party to perform and consult on text amendments to make the law more island-appropriate.
Lawmakers also raised near-term budget and logistics questions: the zoning office lease was reported to expire in October and members asked whether the board could relocate to government-controlled space at Capitol Hill and how FY27 budget cuts might affect operations. The nominee said funds had been earmarked for a building and that DPW coordination was underway but warned recovery from a recent typhoon could delay relocation.
Committee members concluded the hearing by urging the nominee and the agency to prioritize quorum, finalize the priority-site criteria for blighted properties, and pursue both administrative and statutory fixes.
