City of Fargo officials briefed the Planning Commission on Sept. 4 about an ongoing annexation effort covering large acreage north of Hector International Airport and answered residents’ questions about jurisdictional boundaries and timelines. The presentation explained why the city began the process with a commission resolution and outlined next steps if another municipality contests the annexation.

Eric Johnson, an assistant city attorney, said the current annexation began with a resolution from the City Commission, which is a lawful way to start annexation when the city seeks to secure standing before competing jurisdictions act. “The issue comes about when you’re butting up against another community that might have a competing interest in the same property,” Johnson said. He recounted prior litigation decades ago and explained that taking the first official act is important to preserve a city’s ability to participate in subsequent mediation or hearings.

Why it matters: the annexation area includes parts of Section 3 west of the city’s recognized extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), which Harwood has claimed as its ETJ. Johnson told commissioners approximately one-third of the contested area (roughly 320 acres) is outside Fargo’s recognized ETJ; the remaining acreage lies within Fargo’s current ETJ. If Harwood contests Fargo’s annexation, state statute provides a process that starts with governor-appointed mediation; if mediation fails, an administrative law judge will consider statutory factors and set boundaries.

Residents asked whether developers may obtain building permits during the annexation process and how permitting would be administered. Johnson said there is generally nothing that automatically stops development: if the land remains under another jurisdiction or its ETJ, that jurisdiction would handle zoning and permits until any annexation and jurisdictional boundaries are resolved. If the area is later annexed by Fargo before construction is completed, inspection and certificate-of-occupancy responsibilities would transfer according to the controlling jurisdiction at each stage.

Timeline and next steps: Johnson estimated mediation and related processes typically take several months (commonly three to six months) but could be longer depending on agreements or if the case proceeds to an administrative hearing. The city agreed to circulate a map of the annexation area to commissioners and to accept follow-up questions through staff to avoid violating open-meeting rules for a collective discussion.

No formal action was taken by the Planning Commission at the Sept. 4 meeting; the session was a briefing and public Q&A on process and status.