City Council Meeting Date: March 17, 2026
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Sara Hoffman, Executive Assistant/Deputy City Clerk
Title
Consider Resolution Approving a New Joint Resolution for Orderly Annexation by and Between Bridgewater Township and the City of Northfield.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council approves the Resolution Approving a New Joint Resolution for Orderly Annexation by and Between Bridgewater Township and the City of Northfield.
Summary Report:
An Orderly Annexation Agreement (OAA) designates a Subject Area as in need of orderly annexation and contains terms and conditions for future annexation.
The City of Northfield and Bridgewater Township previously entered into a joint Orderly Annexation Agreement in 1999 (attachment 6). The OAA was set to expire on December 31, 1999 but has been extended several times while discussions were ongoing for a new OAA. It did expire at the end of 2025, but since the parties were in the final stages of negotiations on a new agreement, it was decided to let it lapse instead of extending it for only a short period of time.
A select committee of City Council members, City staff, and City attorneys have been working with Supervisors from Bridgewater Township to update and approve a new OAA between the two entities.
The City Council approved a new OAA with Northfield Township on March 18, 2025. While this OAA differs in some areas, the intent of staff was to align the agreements in as many ways as feasible.
The Orderly Annexation Agreement and Exhibits, as agreed upon by both parties is attached (attachments 1-4). The Bridgewater Township Board of Supervisors approved this at their March 11, 2026 meeting. Specific areas of the agreement are noted below in more detail:
Subject Area
The Subject Area of the OAA is divided into two areas - Area 1 and Area 2. Area 1 consists of properties identified by the City that may be targeted for development during the term of this agreement. These properties will be eligible for annexation should they meet the criteria(s) identified in the agreement. Area 2 consists of property that will likely not be targeted for development during the term of this agreement, but the City would like to preserve as agricultural and rural property until such time as development is likely to occur. These properties will not be eligible for annexation except for the protection of the public health and safety and/or because of immediate environmental concerns as noted in the agreement. Area 2 will be held to the Rice County zoning map and zoning requirements that are in place at the time of the signing of this agreement. Should Rice County change their requirements, the City will have the option to renegotiate or terminate the agreement. There are some properties in Area 1 and Area 2 that are currently zoned rural residential. These areas are already developed.
Reimbursement
The City will pay Bridgewater Township at the time land is annexed into the City. The calculation used to determine reimbursement has changed from the last agreement. The previous agreement reimbursement was calculated using a formula contingent on development, with payments spread across multiple years. The City and Township agreed that a simplified alternative would be more beneficial to all involved. There will be two tiers of reimbursement. Tier 1 is agricultural/undeveloped land which will be a flat fee of $750/acre. Tier 2 is residential/developed land which will be determined based on the last year of township tax paid times 8. This differs from the reimbursement agreed upon in the recent Northfield Township OAA. In that agreement, $750/acre was used for all land annexed into the City.
Acreage Limits
The previous OAA had limits on how many acres the City could annex in during a five-year set period. These limits were no more than 80 acres annually or 160 acres during the set five-year periods. The updated agreement has acreage limits of 100 acres per year or 300 acres over a five-year rolling (not set) period. This is the same figure agreed upon in the Northfield Township OAA.
Agreement Length
The updated agreement will go into effect immediately and will run through December 31, 2045. This differs from the Northfield Township OAA that runs through December 31, 2041.
The City Council approved 1.11 Annexation Policy at the February 18, 2025 meeting. It is attached for reference (attachment 7) as is MN State Statute 414.0325 Orderly Annexation in Designated Unincorporated Area (attachment 8). The attached OAA does differ from the recently approved Annexation Policy in several areas, such as acreage caps and the tax reimbursement amount.
Per MN State Statute 414.0325 subd. 1(b), a notice of intent to include property in an orderly agreement must be published. The City and Township mutually published a map (attachment 5) in the Northfield News on November 15, 2025.
While the City did make some compromises on the agreement, such as acreage limits and the reimbursement amount, staff feel the overall agreement is an improvement from the previous agreement.
Alternative Options:
None recommended.
Financial Impacts:
The City will pay the reimbursements as indicated above when land is annexed into the City.
Tentative Timelines:
• March 11, 2026 Bridgewater Township Supervisors approves new agreement
• March 17, 2026 City Council approves new agreement