The city of Summerset will likely need to negotiate with Rapid City regarding platting boundaries before Summerset can complete its comprehensive plan.

Blaise Emerson, a consultant with the Black Hills Council for Local Governments, said the two-mile jurisdiction proposed by the Summerset Planning and Zoning Commission may need to be adjusted.

Emerson has been working with the city to come up with the comprehensive plan.

"If there's one thing that probably would end up getting changed it would be the platting jurisdiction boundaries," Emerson said. "We do know that we need to basically come up with a boundary between the Rapid City platting jurisdiction and Summerset platting jurisdiction."

Summerset, incorporated in 2005, is still working on a comprehensive plan, which is required by state law. Emerson presented the tentative plan at an open house held for citizens last Wednesday at a Summerset Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

Platting boundaries allow cities to regulate the way land is developed and the infrastructure of those developments, but not annexation or zoning issues.

State law allows cities to take up to three miles for platting jurisdiction, and Rapid City has used all three miles.

Summerset is also allowed three miles, but even the two miles currently proposed by Summerset would run into some areas that are under Rapid City jurisdiction.

"There's a fairly good portion up there, kind of in the Black Hawk area, that would overlap," Emerson said.

He said that the cities have two options: negotiate the platting distances, or have the jurisdiction split into an "equal lateral distance." If the second option were to take place, Emerson said, Black Hawk would basically be cut in half as far as platting jurisdiction for Rapid City and Summerset.

He said he has met once with Marcia Elkins, director of growth for Rapid City, and that it appears as though Summerset and Rapid City will negotiate the jurisdictions.

A main factor in the negotiations will likely involve which town believes it can extend services into which areas, Emerson said.

He said he will be talking with Summerset officials about future negotiations with Rapid City and about proceeding with the comprehensive plan. Summerset may have another public open house before hosting a public hearing, which is required by law before the plan can be passed.

Before final approval, the Summerset City Commission must review the plan and approve it. The plan then goes back to the planning commission for final ratification.

It is still not apparent exactly how Summerset's platting boundaries will affect the newly incorporated town of Piedmont, which sits just to the south of Summerset.

State law does not indicate how Summerset must deal with boundary issues with Piedmont, Emerson said, because of the way the towns are classified, based on population.

Piedmont has not yet come up with a comprehensive plan but hopes to talk to Summerset before Summerset completes its plan, Piedmont town board member Phil Anderson said.

"We're going to have to get with Summerset to determine who has jurisdiction over which areas," Anderson said. "There are areas (where) there are concerns over who has the platting authority."

Summerset city finance officer Rebecca Phillips said she was not aware of a meeting with Piedmont regarding those issues but that the city wouldn't be opposed to one.

Philips has not yet seen the proposed plan but knows there are citizens concerned about whether Piedmont or Summerset would be in charge of their particular platting issues.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com