Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Office of the Revisor of Statutes

414.06 DETACHMENT OF PROPERTY FROM A MUNICIPALITY.
    Subdivision 1. Initiating the proceeding. Property which is situated within a municipality
and abutting the municipal boundary, rural in character and not developed for urban residential,
commercial, or industrial purposes may be detached from the municipality according to the
following procedure. The proceeding may be initiated by submitting to the director a resolution of
the municipality to which the land is attached or by submitting to the director a petition of all of
the property owners of the land to be detached if the area is less than 40 acres or of 75 percent
of the property owners if over 40 acres. The petition or resolution shall set forth the boundaries
and the area of the land to be detached, the number and character of the buildings, the resident
population, and the municipal improvements, if any, in the area.
    Subd. 2. Hearing, if needed. If both a resolution of the municipality and a petition by all
the property owners are submitted, no hearing is necessary. In any other case, upon receipt of a
petition or resolution, the director shall designate a time and place for a hearing in accordance
with section 414.09.
    Subd. 3. Order. Upon completion of the hearing, the director may order the detachment
on finding that the requisite number of property owners have signed the petition if initiated
by the property owners, that the property is rural in character and not developed for urban
residential, commercial or industrial purposes, that the property is within the boundaries of the
municipality and abuts a boundary, that the detachment would not unreasonably affect the
symmetry of the detaching municipality, and that the land is not needed for reasonably anticipated
future development. The director may deny the detachment on finding that the remainder of the
municipality cannot continue to carry on the functions of government without undue hardship.
The director may decrease the area of property to be detached and may include only a part of the
proposed area to be detached. If the tract abuts more than one township, it shall become a part of
each township, being divided by projecting through it the boundary line between the townships.
The detached area may be relieved of the primary responsibility for existing indebtedness of the
municipality and be required to assume the indebtedness of the township of which it becomes a
part, in such proportion as the director shall deem just and equitable having in view the amount of
taxes due and delinquent and the indebtedness of each township and the municipality affected,
if any, and for what purpose the same was incurred, all in relation to the benefit inuring to the
detached area as a result of the indebtedness and the last net tax capacity of the taxable property
in each township and municipality.
    Subd. 4. Effective date of detachment. The detachment shall be effective upon the issuance
of the order, or at such later date, as provided by the order.
    Subd. 5. Copy to county auditors. A copy of the detachment order must be delivered
immediately by the director to the appropriate county auditors.
    Subd. 6. Timing of tax levy. For the purposes of taxation, if the detachment becomes
effective on or before August 1 of a levy year, the towns acquiring the detached area may levy on
it beginning with that same levy year. If the detachment becomes effective after August 1 of a
levy year, the municipality may continue to levy on the detached area for that levy year, and the
towns acquiring the detached area may not levy on it until the following levy year.
History: 1959 c 686 s 6; 1961 c 645 s 6; 1963 c 807 s 11; 1965 c 899 s 15; 1969 c 1146
s 15; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1978 c 705 s 24; 1988 c 719 art 5 s 84; 1989 c 329 art 13 s 20; 1991
c 291 art 12 s 25; 2002 c 223 s 18

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes