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Bismarck commissioners send revised ETA map back to Burleigh County, seek small adjustments
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Summary
After extended debate, the City Commission directed staff to return a revised extra-territorial area (ETA) map to Burleigh County with two minor adjustments and limited parcel removals while keeping the option to withdraw from the joint-powers agreement if negotiations fail.
The Bismarck City Commission on Oct. 14 debated how to settle a long-running disagreement with Burleigh County over the city’s extra-territorial area and directed staff to present an adjusted ETA map back to county officials.
Mayor Bruce Schmitz and city planning staff said the city’s map included two technical corrections — clarifying floodway and river-management lines and removing the Astor Ridge rural-residential subdivision from the proposed ETA — and proposed a narrower 2-mile-radius alternative that would reduce joint jurisdiction and exclude a small share of parcels. "We need an ETA for the city to be able to manage its growth," Schmitz said during the discussion.
Commissioners voiced conflicting views on how aggressively to pursue ETA boundaries. Commissioner Zinker argued the county’s counterproposal (which tracks the city’s corporate limits) was not acceptable and successfully moved to send the city’s revised map back to the county with Daniel (city planning staff)’s two adjustments and a few minor modifications. Commissioner Zinker noted some county-level politics had slowed cooperation while Commissioner Connolly and others urged continued negotiation and patience given the state’s role in election and jurisdiction rules.
Staff warned that, if the county does not accept the proposed map, the city could withdraw from the joint-powers agreement — a step that would trigger a six-month process including additional public hearings and ordinance changes. City planning staff also recommended implementing some ordinance edits in winter months to avoid summer disruption. Daniel, the city planner, explained that the map is calibrated to a 50-year growth horizon and that adjustments around borderline parcels such as TJ Lane were feasible without changing the plan’s overall projections.
Why it matters: The ETA defines where the city can influence land use before annexation. Commissioners framed the vote as an effort to protect long-term infrastructure planning and the airport approaches while balancing property-owner concerns about regulation without representation.
What’s next: The commission’s instruction sends the adjusted map back to Burleigh County for their review; if the county rejects the offer, the city may consider withdrawing from the joint-powers agreement and defining its ETA through local ordinance and hearings.
