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Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in a Nutshell

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Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous, Planning, Zoning

Published: 10/14/25

Author:

The term “extraterritorial jurisdiction” (usually referred to as “ETJ” to save a few syllables) might at first seem confusing. Moreover, it sounds a bit like a description of the United Federation of Planets (that would be extraterrestrial jurisdiction, though). ETJ is no more than an extension of development regulation authority that helps municipalities to affect development at their fringes. This blog post reviews the key legal framework and answers some frequent questions about this peculiar element of municipal jurisdiction. 

Development immediately outside a municipality can dramatically affect the municipality. As a Municipal Government Study Commission noted in 1958 (at page 18), “municipalities have a special interest in the areas immediately adjacent to their limits.” Development at the urban fringe—be it residential, industrial, commercial, or otherwise—can affect the municipality through health and safety problems, traffic, and demands on municipal utilities and services. It also may, in time, be annexed into the municipality and create even more direct impacts on municipal infrastructure and services. In recognition of these potential effects, the General Assembly in 1959 permitted cities across the state to exercise planning and development regulation jurisdiction a short distance outside of their corporate limits.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction is a form of municipal jurisdiction that does not extend all municipal authority. Its exercise is optional and any ETJ area must be established by ordinance. A municipality can choose to exercise some or all of its development regulation authority, to extend the boundaries of its ETJ to the legal maximum or to some lesser extent, or to eschew the exercise of ETJ altogether.

Defining ETJ

A municipality’s ETJ is an area outside of a municipality’s principal boundary where the municipality exercises its authority over land development. Specifically, G.S. 160D-202 allows a municipality to designate an area of extraterritorial jurisdiction in which it can “exercise the powers granted to cities under” Chapter 160D of the General Statutes (the chapter that covers planning and development regulation authority).

Who Regulates What in ETJ

ETJ extends only that authority that a municipality draws from Chapter 160D of the General Statutes. This is one area that can be confusing, particularly those new to the concept of ETJ. Chapter 160D grants a local government authority over planning, zoning, subdivision, minimum housing and safe building regulations, to name a few of the more well-known development regulations.

Although it acts to transfer planning and development authority, establishment of an ETJ has no effect on jurisdiction for ordinances that are not development regulations. Those regulations are often referred to as “general police power” ordinances and their enforcement authority remains with the county government. This means that the county still has jurisdiction in ETJ areas over trash collection, streets, noise, business licensing, law enforcement, junked cars, and most other local government powers. In addition, because ETJ area is not fully a part of a municipality, the municipality does not have to extend its utility services to its ETJ and does not levy property taxes on ETJ property.

A key distinction between development regulations and general police power regulations is that Chapter 160D chiefly governs how one builds and develops property (through zoning, subdivision, and building code rules, for instance), while more general police powers tend to relate to the condition of people and property that are already in place. Consider this: using property as a junkyard is covered by zoning regulations, but having a junked car on blocks on your lawn is covered by police power or nuisance regulations. See, the junkyard is a use of land. The owner has established this use instead of a gas station, vape shop, or townhouse. The lot and the buildings on it may be built to suit this land use, in which case other development regulations may have come into play. On the other hand, a junked car is property that is being kept on the land. The purpose of the land is not necessarily to hold the junked car. That activity is ancillary to owning and maintaining the property itself. It therefore is not covered by land use regulations. One might also compare building codes and noise ordinances: the building code is about the construction of a structure on the land – it is related to land use. A noise ordinance is about the activity of making noise and is not necessarily tied to the land and its purpose. Our former colleague David Owens discussed these matters in more depth in this post.

A municipality cannot apply an ordinance in the ETJ that it does not apply within its boundary. The county may apply county development regulations within an ETJ only if formally requested to do so by the city council and only if the county board of commissioners agrees to do so. Any authority not included in Chapter 160D or not exercised by the municipality in its ETJ remains with the county.

Getting ETJ: Extension Procedure

So how does a municipality get ETJ? To exercise its extraterritorial authority, a municipality must pass an ordinance that sets the boundary of its ETJ. It does so through the following process, described in G.S. 160D-202(d):

  1. First, the municipality must set a public hearing date and notify the owners of all of the land in the proposed ETJ area that it intends to extend its ETJ. The notice must inform the landowner (a) of the effect of the extension of ETJ, (b) of the landowner’s right to participate in a legislative hearing prior to adoption of any ordinance extending ETJ, and (c) of the right of all residents of the area to apply to the board of county commissioners to serve as a representative on the planning board and the board of adjustment (more on that below).
  2. After the public hearing, the municipality’s governing board can enact an ordinance adopting the new ETJ.
  3. Once the ETJ ordinance has been adopted, a map or written description of the ETJ must be maintained in the city clerk’s office and recorded in the office of the register of deeds. This is the official copy of the new boundary that citizens can check to determine whether or not their land is covered by city zoning regulations.
  4. The municipality must request that the county appoint representatives from the ETJ to several local appointed boards, including the planning board, board of adjustment, appearance commission, and the historic preservation commission.

The statutes do not specify what process should be used for modifying or relinquishing ETJ, but this process would presumably follow the same process that was used to extend the ETJ. More specific information on relinquishing ETJ is available in this blog post by my colleague Adam Lovelady.

ETJ Representation

Residents of the extraterritorial area do not get to vote in city elections and do not pay city taxes. However, G.S. 160D-307 requires that a municipality, once it establishes ETJ, must provide for proportional representation on any of several appointed boards. These include the planning board, board of adjustment, appearance commission, and historic preservation commission. Naturally, appointments are not required for any of the above boards that the municipality does not have. Also important: the county board of commissioners, and not the municipal governing board, get the first crack at making these appointments. If the county commissioners fail to do so, then the municipal governing board can choose the ETJ representatives.

For example, if the Village of Boomtown has a population of 5,000 and it has a five-member board of adjustment, that means there is one board member for each 1,000 city residents. If Boomtown extends its ETJ to include an area with 1,000 residents, it should add a sixth seat to the board of adjustment, so that there is one representative for the 1,000 people in the ETJ area and five representatives of the 5,000 people in the Village limits.

Geographic limits of ETJ

The next question is how far ETJ can go, geographically speaking. A municipality may extend its ETJ from its primary corporate limits for a maximum of between one and three miles, depending on the size of the municipality. However, in many cases a municipality will need consent from the surrounding county to extend ETJ.

How far a municipality can extend ETJ depends on a city’s population (as reflected in the North Carolina Department of Administration’s most recent annual estimate):

  • Cities with populations under 10,000 may extend ETJ up to one mile from the primary corporate limits.
    • County approval is required only if the county is already exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority in the proposed ETJ area. Note that adoption of one or the other, or of specialized ordinances such as a watershed protection ordinance or stormwater management ordinance, does not trigger the requirement for county approval.
  • Cities with populations between 10,000 and 25,000 may extend ETJ up to two miles from the primary corporate limits.
    • Extension beyond one mile requires county approval; extension of less than one mile requires county approval if the county is exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority.
  • Cities with populations of 25,000 or more may extend ETJ up to three miles from the primary corporate limits.
    • Extension beyond one mile requires county approval; extension of less than one mile requires county approval if the county is exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority.

Note that these distances are measured from the “primary” or “contiguous” corporate limits, and not from “satellite” areas that are not contiguous to the main portion of the municipality. Satellite areas are ignored when determining the allowable extent of ETJ and are not affected by it (after all, satellite areas are already under municipal jurisdiction).

A municipality can choose to exercise less than its maximum extraterritorial area. For example, it may establish jurisdiction extending one mile east of town because that is the direction of urban growth, while not establishing any extraterritorial jurisdiction on the west side of town. If two municipalities are close enough together that their extraterritorial boundaries overlap, the boundary is set at the midpoint between them, unless the municipalities agree to a different boundary.

For those situations where county approval is required, that approval must be in the form of a written resolution adopted by its county board of commissioners. There are no standards set for the county board to use in making the decision on whether to allow the city to have extraterritorial jurisdiction. That choice is left largely to the good judgment and discretion of the county commissioners. Of course, such choices should be made for land use-based reasons. Refusing an extension of ETJ for an arbitrary or otherwise illegal purpose would be subject to reversal if challenged.

ETJ and Annexation

Many of the most frequently asked questions about ETJ relate to its interaction with annexation. These two concepts both involve extending municipal authority, but they are separate and do not substantially cross-reference one another. Below are a few of the key distinctions between annexation and ETJ:

Annexation is a full extension of all municipal authority. The city is actually growing in size in a permanent way and the new territory will be subject to all of the same rules, regulations, and benefits as other areas of the city. Residents pay city taxes and are allowed to vote in municipal elections. Further, the authority for annexation comes from Chapter 160A of the General Statutes, which is the chapter that governs municipalities generally.

ETJ, in contrast, is an extension of development authority only. The city does not grow when ETJ is established, but rather extends certain authority out beyond its borders, like an athlete defending an area of the playing surface in a zone defense or the area just outside a castle’s walls. Areas in municipal ETJ are still in the county and for most purposes remain under county jurisdiction. The authority to extend ETJ is granted in Chapter 160D of the General Statutes, the chapter that grants development regulation authority to both municipalities and counties.

This separation between annexation and ETJ leads to a few key consequences.

Annexation extends the permissible, but not actual, reach of ETJ

Annexation extends a municipal boundary but does not automatically extend a city’s ETJ. Annexation of contiguous areas might change the area over which a municipality is allowed to extend its ETJ, but there is no automatic extension of the current ETJ border. To illustrate, let’s say Boroville has an established ETJ that extends two miles from its current principal boundary, the maximum allowed for a town its size. When Boroville annexes property contiguous to its principal corporate limit, its ETJ does not automatically change. Boroville now has the legal authority to start the process of extending its ETJ out to two miles from the newly annexed property, but it has to go through the full ETJ ordinance amendment process to do so.

A municipality does not have to include property in their ETJ prior to annexing that property

ETJ can and often does serve as a sort of preamble to annexation. However, the law does not require this: there is no requirement that property in ETJ ever be annexed, and no requirement that a city intend to annex property that is included in its ETJ. Again, the statutes on annexation and ETJ come from different parts of the General Statutes and represent different kinds of authority, so one is not required to follow the other. 

A municipality can annex property from another municipality’s ETJ

One of the other quirks of annexation and ETJ is that extending ETJ over a given area does not affect whether another city can annex that property. This might happen with two small communities near to one another in the same growing metro area – a given parcel might be covered by Town A’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but that does not prevent the property owner from petitioning to be annexed into nearby Town B (provided the annexation standards are met). Of course, such an extension is still limited by the fact that a municipality cannot annex territory that is closer to another municipality without the two municipalities entering into an annexation agreement.

ETJ and Development in Progress

When a municipality extends or modifies its ETJ, this act has ramifications for the zoning ordinance and may affect development projects that are already underway.

ETJ Extension and the zoning regulation

While ETJ changes the geographic reach of a municipality’s zoning regulations, it does not automatically change the zoning map. This is because the zoning map is part of the zoning regulations. When ETJ is established, the municipality extending ETJ also will need to add the property to its zoning map through the regular rezoning process. It is important to keep in mind that, even if a zoning map amendment and an ETJ ordinance are considered in parallel, care must be taken to ensure that the notice and hearing requirements for each process are met.

If the new ETJ area is not added to the zoning map immediately, General Statute 160D-202(g) provides a transition period when the county zoning can still apply. Zoning from the prior jurisdiction (in this case, typically the county) remains in effect for up to sixty days after the ETJ ordinance becomes effective. This gives the municipality receiving jurisdiction time to hold the required hearings to amend its zoning map. The former jurisdiction’s zoning automatically expires when the new jurisdiction adopts zoning for that area, but if the new jurisdiction has not acted within sixty days from the day the area shifted from one local government to the other, the former jurisdiction’s zoning expires even if the new jurisdiction has not yet zoned the area.

Consider the following example:

  • Sampleton, in the county of Maydup, extends its ETJ over Rasheed’s property, effective October 3.
  • Recall that Rasheed’s property is not automatically added to Sampleton’s zoning map. What if the zoning amendment becomes effective on December 9?
  • On October 3, his property is now in Sampleton’s ETJ. However, G.S. 160D-202(g) provides for the county’s zoning to continue for up to sixty days.
  • So Maydup County zoning still applies for 60 days, until December 2.
  • Uh-oh! Rasheed’s property is not part of any Sampleton zoning district from December 2 to December 9! Generally applicable parts of Sampleton’s zoning regulation might apply, but no district-related rules apply to the property until the map amendment is effective.
  • This means that, if he is quick, Rasheed can legally establish just about any use that does not always require a permit. Gas station? Sure! Adult novelties store? Why not! He just needs to get his zoning permit before December 9, when Sampleton’s zoning amendment becomes effective and assigns his property to a zoning district.

Let’s see what happens if Sampleton’s zoning map amendment is effective on November 20 instead:

  • Recall that Sampleton’s ETJ extends to Rasheed’s property effective October 3
  • November 20 is less than 60 days after October 3, so Maydup County zoning applies to his property through November 19, and Sampleton zoning applies from November 20 on, leaving no gap in zoning regulation coverage.

ETJ and Vested Rights

Sometimes ETJ is extended at a time when development work is already underway. In that case, there are two significant implications to keep in mind: first, G.S. 160D-202(k) requires the municipality to honor vested rights obtained in the county; and second, G.S. 160D-204 allows the municipality to start the process of reviewing development proposals once the extension process has started.

For instance, let’s say Fakesville is about to extend its ETJ into a portion of the surrounding Maydup County. At the same time, Ivory is planning a new commercial development on property she has a contract to buy on the edge of town. Her project requires subdivision approval and must be added to Fakesville’s zoning map as discussed above.

If the county has already approved Ivory’s preliminary subdivision plat, she has a vested right to move forward with the work permitted by that development approval. She can grade the property, install utility lines, construct roads, and so on, under the rules that apply to her plat approval. There is one part of this situation that may be awkward, and it is this: Fakesville may have to inspect performance on a permit issued in Maydup County under the county’s subdivision regulations. Those are the rules under which Ivory has a vested right to proceed, after all.

Now let’s turn to the zoning map amendment. Fakesville can start notice and hearing processes for the rezoning that will add Ivory’s property to its zoning map even before the ETJ extension is effective. If all goes according to plan, the Fakesville Town Council can even approve the ETJ extension ordinance and the zoning map amendment that adds Ivory’s property at the same meeting! Maybe even in successive agenda items! That’s efficient government for you, and it avoids Fakesville having to worry about a 60-day period of county regulation like Sampleton did in our earlier example.

ETJ Basics Summary

If you dozed off while reading this blog post, had to take an urgent call, or just need a quick TL:DR, here are a few key points to remember:

ETJ is an extension of partial municipal authority. It covers only those powers granted by G.S. Chapter 160D—in other words, development regulation powers. Other areas of regulation, such as overgrown lot ordinances and noise ordinances, are still under county jurisdiction.

ETJ requires a legislative process with notice and a public hearing. It can be extended to a maximum of one to three miles from the primary corporate boundary of the municipality, depending on population. County consent in the form of a resolution is required if the county is already exercising both zoning and subdivision authority over the proposed ETJ area or if the proposed ETJ area extends more than one mile from the municipality’s primary boundary.

ETJ and annexation are both extensions of authority, but differ greatly in scope. While annexation extends the permissible breadth of ETJ, it is not an automatic extension. An area does not have to be in a municipality’s ETJ before the municipality can annex it, and a municipality can even annex property in another municipality’s ETJ!

ETJ does not automatically extend zoning, but there is a period of up to sixty days in which county zoning may still apply. The municipality extending ETJ can also receive and process applications for zoning map amendments or development approvals before the change in jurisdiction is effective. Even after ETJ is extended, vested rights established before the ETJ extension remain effective.

Coates’ Canons NC Local Government Law

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction in a Nutshell

Published: 10/14/25

Author:

The term “extraterritorial jurisdiction” (usually referred to as “ETJ” to save a few syllables) might at first seem confusing. Moreover, it sounds a bit like a description of the United Federation of Planets (that would be extraterrestrial jurisdiction, though). ETJ is no more than an extension of development regulation authority that helps municipalities to affect development at their fringes. This blog post reviews the key legal framework and answers some frequent questions about this peculiar element of municipal jurisdiction. 

Development immediately outside a municipality can dramatically affect the municipality. As a Municipal Government Study Commission noted in 1958 (at page 18), “municipalities have a special interest in the areas immediately adjacent to their limits.” Development at the urban fringe—be it residential, industrial, commercial, or otherwise—can affect the municipality through health and safety problems, traffic, and demands on municipal utilities and services. It also may, in time, be annexed into the municipality and create even more direct impacts on municipal infrastructure and services. In recognition of these potential effects, the General Assembly in 1959 permitted cities across the state to exercise planning and development regulation jurisdiction a short distance outside of their corporate limits.

Extraterritorial jurisdiction is a form of municipal jurisdiction that does not extend all municipal authority. Its exercise is optional and any ETJ area must be established by ordinance. A municipality can choose to exercise some or all of its development regulation authority, to extend the boundaries of its ETJ to the legal maximum or to some lesser extent, or to eschew the exercise of ETJ altogether.

Defining ETJ

A municipality’s ETJ is an area outside of a municipality’s principal boundary where the municipality exercises its authority over land development. Specifically, G.S. 160D-202 allows a municipality to designate an area of extraterritorial jurisdiction in which it can “exercise the powers granted to cities under” Chapter 160D of the General Statutes (the chapter that covers planning and development regulation authority).

Who Regulates What in ETJ

ETJ extends only that authority that a municipality draws from Chapter 160D of the General Statutes. This is one area that can be confusing, particularly those new to the concept of ETJ. Chapter 160D grants a local government authority over planning, zoning, subdivision, minimum housing and safe building regulations, to name a few of the more well-known development regulations.

Although it acts to transfer planning and development authority, establishment of an ETJ has no effect on jurisdiction for ordinances that are not development regulations. Those regulations are often referred to as “general police power” ordinances and their enforcement authority remains with the county government. This means that the county still has jurisdiction in ETJ areas over trash collection, streets, noise, business licensing, law enforcement, junked cars, and most other local government powers. In addition, because ETJ area is not fully a part of a municipality, the municipality does not have to extend its utility services to its ETJ and does not levy property taxes on ETJ property.

A key distinction between development regulations and general police power regulations is that Chapter 160D chiefly governs how one builds and develops property (through zoning, subdivision, and building code rules, for instance), while more general police powers tend to relate to the condition of people and property that are already in place. Consider this: using property as a junkyard is covered by zoning regulations, but having a junked car on blocks on your lawn is covered by police power or nuisance regulations. See, the junkyard is a use of land. The owner has established this use instead of a gas station, vape shop, or townhouse. The lot and the buildings on it may be built to suit this land use, in which case other development regulations may have come into play. On the other hand, a junked car is property that is being kept on the land. The purpose of the land is not necessarily to hold the junked car. That activity is ancillary to owning and maintaining the property itself. It therefore is not covered by land use regulations. One might also compare building codes and noise ordinances: the building code is about the construction of a structure on the land – it is related to land use. A noise ordinance is about the activity of making noise and is not necessarily tied to the land and its purpose. Our former colleague David Owens discussed these matters in more depth in this post.

A municipality cannot apply an ordinance in the ETJ that it does not apply within its boundary. The county may apply county development regulations within an ETJ only if formally requested to do so by the city council and only if the county board of commissioners agrees to do so. Any authority not included in Chapter 160D or not exercised by the municipality in its ETJ remains with the county.

Getting ETJ: Extension Procedure

So how does a municipality get ETJ? To exercise its extraterritorial authority, a municipality must pass an ordinance that sets the boundary of its ETJ. It does so through the following process, described in G.S. 160D-202(d):

  1. First, the municipality must set a public hearing date and notify the owners of all of the land in the proposed ETJ area that it intends to extend its ETJ. The notice must inform the landowner (a) of the effect of the extension of ETJ, (b) of the landowner’s right to participate in a legislative hearing prior to adoption of any ordinance extending ETJ, and (c) of the right of all residents of the area to apply to the board of county commissioners to serve as a representative on the planning board and the board of adjustment (more on that below).
  2. After the public hearing, the municipality’s governing board can enact an ordinance adopting the new ETJ.
  3. Once the ETJ ordinance has been adopted, a map or written description of the ETJ must be maintained in the city clerk’s office and recorded in the office of the register of deeds. This is the official copy of the new boundary that citizens can check to determine whether or not their land is covered by city zoning regulations.
  4. The municipality must request that the county appoint representatives from the ETJ to several local appointed boards, including the planning board, board of adjustment, appearance commission, and the historic preservation commission.

The statutes do not specify what process should be used for modifying or relinquishing ETJ, but this process would presumably follow the same process that was used to extend the ETJ. More specific information on relinquishing ETJ is available in this blog post by my colleague Adam Lovelady.

ETJ Representation

Residents of the extraterritorial area do not get to vote in city elections and do not pay city taxes. However, G.S. 160D-307 requires that a municipality, once it establishes ETJ, must provide for proportional representation on any of several appointed boards. These include the planning board, board of adjustment, appearance commission, and historic preservation commission. Naturally, appointments are not required for any of the above boards that the municipality does not have. Also important: the county board of commissioners, and not the municipal governing board, get the first crack at making these appointments. If the county commissioners fail to do so, then the municipal governing board can choose the ETJ representatives.

For example, if the Village of Boomtown has a population of 5,000 and it has a five-member board of adjustment, that means there is one board member for each 1,000 city residents. If Boomtown extends its ETJ to include an area with 1,000 residents, it should add a sixth seat to the board of adjustment, so that there is one representative for the 1,000 people in the ETJ area and five representatives of the 5,000 people in the Village limits.

Geographic limits of ETJ

The next question is how far ETJ can go, geographically speaking. A municipality may extend its ETJ from its primary corporate limits for a maximum of between one and three miles, depending on the size of the municipality. However, in many cases a municipality will need consent from the surrounding county to extend ETJ.

How far a municipality can extend ETJ depends on a city’s population (as reflected in the North Carolina Department of Administration’s most recent annual estimate):

  • Cities with populations under 10,000 may extend ETJ up to one mile from the primary corporate limits.
    • County approval is required only if the county is already exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority in the proposed ETJ area. Note that adoption of one or the other, or of specialized ordinances such as a watershed protection ordinance or stormwater management ordinance, does not trigger the requirement for county approval.
  • Cities with populations between 10,000 and 25,000 may extend ETJ up to two miles from the primary corporate limits.
    • Extension beyond one mile requires county approval; extension of less than one mile requires county approval if the county is exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority.
  • Cities with populations of 25,000 or more may extend ETJ up to three miles from the primary corporate limits.
    • Extension beyond one mile requires county approval; extension of less than one mile requires county approval if the county is exercising both zoning and subdivision regulation authority.

Note that these distances are measured from the “primary” or “contiguous” corporate limits, and not from “satellite” areas that are not contiguous to the main portion of the municipality. Satellite areas are ignored when determining the allowable extent of ETJ and are not affected by it (after all, satellite areas are already under municipal jurisdiction).

A municipality can choose to exercise less than its maximum extraterritorial area. For example, it may establish jurisdiction extending one mile east of town because that is the direction of urban growth, while not establishing any extraterritorial jurisdiction on the west side of town. If two municipalities are close enough together that their extraterritorial boundaries overlap, the boundary is set at the midpoint between them, unless the municipalities agree to a different boundary.

For those situations where county approval is required, that approval must be in the form of a written resolution adopted by its county board of commissioners. There are no standards set for the county board to use in making the decision on whether to allow the city to have extraterritorial jurisdiction. That choice is left largely to the good judgment and discretion of the county commissioners. Of course, such choices should be made for land use-based reasons. Refusing an extension of ETJ for an arbitrary or otherwise illegal purpose would be subject to reversal if challenged.

ETJ and Annexation

Many of the most frequently asked questions about ETJ relate to its interaction with annexation. These two concepts both involve extending municipal authority, but they are separate and do not substantially cross-reference one another. Below are a few of the key distinctions between annexation and ETJ:

Annexation is a full extension of all municipal authority. The city is actually growing in size in a permanent way and the new territory will be subject to all of the same rules, regulations, and benefits as other areas of the city. Residents pay city taxes and are allowed to vote in municipal elections. Further, the authority for annexation comes from Chapter 160A of the General Statutes, which is the chapter that governs municipalities generally.

ETJ, in contrast, is an extension of development authority only. The city does not grow when ETJ is established, but rather extends certain authority out beyond its borders, like an athlete defending an area of the playing surface in a zone defense or the area just outside a castle’s walls. Areas in municipal ETJ are still in the county and for most purposes remain under county jurisdiction. The authority to extend ETJ is granted in Chapter 160D of the General Statutes, the chapter that grants development regulation authority to both municipalities and counties.

This separation between annexation and ETJ leads to a few key consequences.

Annexation extends the permissible, but not actual, reach of ETJ

Annexation extends a municipal boundary but does not automatically extend a city’s ETJ. Annexation of contiguous areas might change the area over which a municipality is allowed to extend its ETJ, but there is no automatic extension of the current ETJ border. To illustrate, let’s say Boroville has an established ETJ that extends two miles from its current principal boundary, the maximum allowed for a town its size. When Boroville annexes property contiguous to its principal corporate limit, its ETJ does not automatically change. Boroville now has the legal authority to start the process of extending its ETJ out to two miles from the newly annexed property, but it has to go through the full ETJ ordinance amendment process to do so.

A municipality does not have to include property in their ETJ prior to annexing that property

ETJ can and often does serve as a sort of preamble to annexation. However, the law does not require this: there is no requirement that property in ETJ ever be annexed, and no requirement that a city intend to annex property that is included in its ETJ. Again, the statutes on annexation and ETJ come from different parts of the General Statutes and represent different kinds of authority, so one is not required to follow the other. 

A municipality can annex property from another municipality’s ETJ

One of the other quirks of annexation and ETJ is that extending ETJ over a given area does not affect whether another city can annex that property. This might happen with two small communities near to one another in the same growing metro area – a given parcel might be covered by Town A’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, but that does not prevent the property owner from petitioning to be annexed into nearby Town B (provided the annexation standards are met). Of course, such an extension is still limited by the fact that a municipality cannot annex territory that is closer to another municipality without the two municipalities entering into an annexation agreement.

ETJ and Development in Progress

When a municipality extends or modifies its ETJ, this act has ramifications for the zoning ordinance and may affect development projects that are already underway.

ETJ Extension and the zoning regulation

While ETJ changes the geographic reach of a municipality’s zoning regulations, it does not automatically change the zoning map. This is because the zoning map is part of the zoning regulations. When ETJ is established, the municipality extending ETJ also will need to add the property to its zoning map through the regular rezoning process. It is important to keep in mind that, even if a zoning map amendment and an ETJ ordinance are considered in parallel, care must be taken to ensure that the notice and hearing requirements for each process are met.

If the new ETJ area is not added to the zoning map immediately, General Statute 160D-202(g) provides a transition period when the county zoning can still apply. Zoning from the prior jurisdiction (in this case, typically the county) remains in effect for up to sixty days after the ETJ ordinance becomes effective. This gives the municipality receiving jurisdiction time to hold the required hearings to amend its zoning map. The former jurisdiction’s zoning automatically expires when the new jurisdiction adopts zoning for that area, but if the new jurisdiction has not acted within sixty days from the day the area shifted from one local government to the other, the former jurisdiction’s zoning expires even if the new jurisdiction has not yet zoned the area.

Consider the following example:

  • Sampleton, in the county of Maydup, extends its ETJ over Rasheed’s property, effective October 3.
  • Recall that Rasheed’s property is not automatically added to Sampleton’s zoning map. What if the zoning amendment becomes effective on December 9?
  • On October 3, his property is now in Sampleton’s ETJ. However, G.S. 160D-202(g) provides for the county’s zoning to continue for up to sixty days.
  • So Maydup County zoning still applies for 60 days, until December 2.
  • Uh-oh! Rasheed’s property is not part of any Sampleton zoning district from December 2 to December 9! Generally applicable parts of Sampleton’s zoning regulation might apply, but no district-related rules apply to the property until the map amendment is effective.
  • This means that, if he is quick, Rasheed can legally establish just about any use that does not always require a permit. Gas station? Sure! Adult novelties store? Why not! He just needs to get his zoning permit before December 9, when Sampleton’s zoning amendment becomes effective and assigns his property to a zoning district.

Let’s see what happens if Sampleton’s zoning map amendment is effective on November 20 instead:

  • Recall that Sampleton’s ETJ extends to Rasheed’s property effective October 3
  • November 20 is less than 60 days after October 3, so Maydup County zoning applies to his property through November 19, and Sampleton zoning applies from November 20 on, leaving no gap in zoning regulation coverage.

ETJ and Vested Rights

Sometimes ETJ is extended at a time when development work is already underway. In that case, there are two significant implications to keep in mind: first, G.S. 160D-202(k) requires the municipality to honor vested rights obtained in the county; and second, G.S. 160D-204 allows the municipality to start the process of reviewing development proposals once the extension process has started.

For instance, let’s say Fakesville is about to extend its ETJ into a portion of the surrounding Maydup County. At the same time, Ivory is planning a new commercial development on property she has a contract to buy on the edge of town. Her project requires subdivision approval and must be added to Fakesville’s zoning map as discussed above.

If the county has already approved Ivory’s preliminary subdivision plat, she has a vested right to move forward with the work permitted by that development approval. She can grade the property, install utility lines, construct roads, and so on, under the rules that apply to her plat approval. There is one part of this situation that may be awkward, and it is this: Fakesville may have to inspect performance on a permit issued in Maydup County under the county’s subdivision regulations. Those are the rules under which Ivory has a vested right to proceed, after all.

Now let’s turn to the zoning map amendment. Fakesville can start notice and hearing processes for the rezoning that will add Ivory’s property to its zoning map even before the ETJ extension is effective. If all goes according to plan, the Fakesville Town Council can even approve the ETJ extension ordinance and the zoning map amendment that adds Ivory’s property at the same meeting! Maybe even in successive agenda items! That’s efficient government for you, and it avoids Fakesville having to worry about a 60-day period of county regulation like Sampleton did in our earlier example.

ETJ Basics Summary

If you dozed off while reading this blog post, had to take an urgent call, or just need a quick TL:DR, here are a few key points to remember:

ETJ is an extension of partial municipal authority. It covers only those powers granted by G.S. Chapter 160D—in other words, development regulation powers. Other areas of regulation, such as overgrown lot ordinances and noise ordinances, are still under county jurisdiction.

ETJ requires a legislative process with notice and a public hearing. It can be extended to a maximum of one to three miles from the primary corporate boundary of the municipality, depending on population. County consent in the form of a resolution is required if the county is already exercising both zoning and subdivision authority over the proposed ETJ area or if the proposed ETJ area extends more than one mile from the municipality’s primary boundary.

ETJ and annexation are both extensions of authority, but differ greatly in scope. While annexation extends the permissible breadth of ETJ, it is not an automatic extension. An area does not have to be in a municipality’s ETJ before the municipality can annex it, and a municipality can even annex property in another municipality’s ETJ!

ETJ does not automatically extend zoning, but there is a period of up to sixty days in which county zoning may still apply. The municipality extending ETJ can also receive and process applications for zoning map amendments or development approvals before the change in jurisdiction is effective. Even after ETJ is extended, vested rights established before the ETJ extension remain effective.

This blog post is published and posted online by the School of Government for educational purposes. For more information, visit the School’s website at www.sog.unc.edu.

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