40-51.2 Annexation and Exclusion of Territory
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communities in the state of North Dakota. It is the purpose of this chapter:1.To encourage natural and well-ordered development of municipalities of the state;2.To extend municipal government to areas which form a part of the whole
community;3.To simplify government structure in urban areas; and4.To recognize the interrelationship and interdependence between a municipal
corporation and areas contiguous or adjacent thereto,and to these ends this chapter shall be liberally construed. For the purposes of this chapter,
contiguity will not be affected by the existence of a platted street or alley, a public or private right
of way, or a public or private transportation right of way or area, or a lake, reservoir, stream, or
other natural or artificial waterway between the annexing municipality and the land to be
annexed.40-51.2-02.1.Annexation agreements.The governing body of a city may enter awritten annexation agreement with the governing body of another city regarding the annexation of
property located within the extraterritorial zoning or subdivision regulation authority of the cities
under chapter 40-47 or 40-48. An agreement is binding on the governing bodies of the cities for
the term of the agreement unless the governing bodies agree otherwise or unless determined
otherwise by an administrative law judge in accordance with this chapter. An agreement may not
have a term greater than twenty years.40-51.2-02.2.Annexation of land in the extraterritorial zoning or subdivisionregulation authority of another city.A city may not annex land located within theextraterritorial zoning or subdivision regulation authority of another city by ordinance or resolution
unless:1.Written consent is received from the governing body of the other city; or2.The annexation is ordered by an administrative law judge in accordance with this
chapter.40-51.2-03. Annexation by petition of owners and electors. Upon a written petitionsigned by not less than three-fourths of the qualified electors or by the owners of not less than
three-fourths in assessed value of the property in any territory contiguous or adjacent to any
incorporated municipality and not embraced within the limits thereof, the governing body of the
municipality, by ordinance, may annex such territory to the municipality.40-51.2-04. Exclusion by petition of owners and electors. Upon a petition signed bynot less than three-fourths of the qualified electors and by the owners of not less than
three-fourths in assessed value of the property in any territory within the limits of an incorporated
municipality and contiguous or adjacent to such limits, the governing body of the municipality, by
ordinance, may in its discretion, disconnect and exclude such territory from the municipality. This
section, however, applies only to lands that have not been platted under either sections
40-50.1-01 through 40-50.1-17 or section 57-02-39, and where no municipal improvements have
been made or constructed therein or adjacent thereto. Further, in the event any property forPage No. 1which exclusion is petitioned has been within the limits of an incorporated municipality for more
than ten years prior thereto and, as of the time of filing the petition, is not platted and has no
municipal improvements thereon, the governing body of the municipality may disconnect and
exclude such territory by ordinance from the municipality.40-51.2-05. Notice - Petition of owners and electors - Mediation.1.The governing body may not take final action on a petition presented by owners and
qualified electors until the petitioners have given notice of presentation of the petition
by one publication in the official newspaper of the city as provided by section
40-01-09 and the governing body has mailed a notice of the time and place of
consideration of the petition to the owner of each parcel of real property within the
area described in the petition at the person's last-known mailing address. The notice
is not required to be sent to any owner of real property who signed a petition
pursuant to section 40-51.2-03 or 40-51.2-04.If the land area petitioned to beannexed to the city lies within the extraterritorial zoning or subdivision regulation
authority of another city, the governing body of the city must also mail the notice of
the time and place of consideration of the petition to the governing body of the other
city.2.If the land area petitioned to be annexed to the city lies within the extraterritorial
zoning or subdivision regulation authority of another city and written consent to
annex the land area is not received from the governing body of the other city, the
annexing city may either stop its pursuit of the annexation or submit the matter to a
committee for mediation as provided in section 40-51.2-07.1. If mediation does not
resolve the matter, the office of administrative hearings may be petitioned to hear
the matter in accordance with sections 40-51.2-08, 40-51.2-09, 40-51.2-11,
40-51.2-12, 40-51.2-13, 40-51.2-14, 40-51.2-15, 40-51.2-16, and 40-51.2-17.40-51.2-06.Petition of owners and electors - Annexation or exclusion -Classification of annexed agricultural lands for tax purposes. If the governing body annexes
the area, it shall do so by ordinance. When a copy of the ordinance and an accurate map of the
annexed area, certified by the executive officer of the city, are filed and recorded with the county
recorder, the annexation becomes effective.An annexation is effective for the purpose ofgeneral taxation on and after the first day of the next February. However, the city shall continue
to classify as agricultural lands for tax purposes all lands in the annexed area which were
classified as agricultural lands immediately before the annexation proceedings until those lands
are put to another use. If the governing body determines to exclude the area petitioned for, it
may do so by ordinance adopted and recorded as in the case of annexation.40-51.2-07. Annexation by resolution of city. The governing body of any city mayadopt a resolution to annex contiguous or adjacent territory as follows:1.The governing body of the city shall adopt a resolution describing the property to be
annexed.2.The governing body of the city shall publish the resolution and a notice of the time
and place the governing body will meet to hear and determine the sufficiency of any
written protests against the proposed annexation in the official newspaper once each
week for two consecutive weeks. The governing body of the city shall mail a notice
to the owner of each parcel of real property within the area to be annexed at the
person's last-known mailing address. The notice must inform landowners of the
resolution, the time and place of hearing, and the requirement that protests must be
filed in writing. The owners of any real property within the territory proposed to be
annexed within thirty days of the first publication of the resolution may file written
protests with the city auditor protesting against the proposed annexation.Nostate-owned property may be annexed without the written consent of the state
agency or department having control of the property. The governing body of the city,Page No. 2at its next meeting after the expiration of the time for filing the protests, shall hear
and determine the sufficiency of the protests.3.In the absence of protests filed by the owners of more than one-fourth of the territory
proposed to be annexed as of the date of the adoption of the resolution, the territory
described in the resolution becomes a part of the city. When a copy of the resolution
and an accurate map of the annexed area, certified by the executive officer of the
city, are filed and recorded with the county recorder, the annexation becomes
effective. Annexation is effective for the purpose of general taxation on and after the
first day of the next February.However, the city shall continue to classify asagricultural lands for tax purposes all lands in the annexed area which were
classified as agricultural lands immediately before the annexation proceedings until
those lands are put to another use.If the owners of one-fourth or more of the territory proposed to be annexed protest, or if a city that
has extraterritorial zoning or subdivision regulation authority over the area petitioned to be
annexed protests, the city may either stop its pursuit of the annexation or submit the matter to a
committee for mediation as provided in section 40-51.2-07.1.40-51.2-07.1. Mediation. The mediation committee must be comprised of a personappointed by the governor, representatives of the petitioners under section 40-51.2-03 or the
protesters under section 40-51.2-07, the involved cities, counties, and townships, and any other
parties having an interest in the proposed annexation. The governor's appointee shall arrange
and preside over the meeting and act as mediator at the meeting.The meeting may becontinued until a resolution agreeable to all parties is reached or the mediator determines that
continued mediation is no longer worthwhile.40-51.2-08. Petition to office of administrative hearings. If the governing body of acity involved in the dispute is not satisfied with the result of the mediation, the governing body
may petition the director of the office of administrative hearings to hear the matter.If theannexation was initiated under section 40-51.2-07, the petition must include an accurate map of
the area sought to be annexed, a description of the area, and the reasons for the annexation.40-51.2-09. Administrative law judge to be appointed - Hearing set. Upon receipt ofa petition, the director of the office of administrative hearings shall appoint an administrative law
judge to hear the petition.If the annexation was initiated under section 40-51.2-07, theadministrative law judge shall determine whether the annexing city has substantially complied
with all of the procedural requirements in the annexation process. If substantial compliance has
been met, or if the annexation was initiated under section 40-51.2-03, the administrative law
judge shall designate a time and place at which the petition will be heard. The time of the
hearing may not be less than thirty days after receipt of the petition.40-51.2-10. Annexation review commission - Composition. Repealed by S.L. 1997,ch. 357,