Setting boundaries: Sioux Falls, Harrisburg, Tea define growth areas

Aug. 18, 2025

The road map for growth in three communities is being formalized.

The cities of Sioux Falls, Harrisburg and Tea are bringing forward proposed growth-area boundaries for approval by their respective city councils. The Sioux Falls City Council approved the plan last week, and Harrisburg and Tea will consider the item at their council meetings this week.

“As growth and annexations take place, there’s going to be shared responsibilities,” said Kevin Smith, assistant director of planning and development services for the city of Sioux Falls.

“Twenty-five years ago, when Harrisburg and Tea were literally miles from the city of Sioux Falls, whether or not everyone’s growth boundaries matched up may not have been as significant. But now that we’ve grown together, it’s absolutely more important that the two are coordinated.”

The proposed growth boundaries largely follow established water service territory. Sioux Falls and Harrisburg meet at Highway 106, also known as 271st Street.

With Tea, the boundary zigzags a bit, framed up mostly by Interstate 29 as the east/west boundary and 269th or 270th streets as the north/south boundary.

When communities’ boundaries touch each other, “we’ve seen examples of misaligned driveways and misaligned intersections and the problems that creates for motorists and the adjoining landowners,” Smith said. “To the extent we can plan for the future and align those things … we can think ahead.”

The timing lines up with multiple milestones, both in planning and actual infrastructure construction. Sioux Falls is finalizing its new Shape Sioux Falls 2050 plan, Tea is updating its comprehensive plan and a metro-area transportation planning process is underway.

Additionally, as major road projects such as Veterans Parkway and the 85th Street interchange are completed, and plans for additional sewer service in Sioux Falls move forward, there will be more interest from developers in properties.

“For us, and it’s probably the same as Sioux Falls and Tea, just with the explosion of growth it’s really good to know where the boundaries are,” Harrisburg city administrator Amanda Mack said.

“It helps for long-term strategy, infrastructure improvements. I just think there’s a lot of value in knowing what we’re responsible for and building plans to meet that responsibility in the future. This is an opportunity to strengthen relationships with partner communities and be a true partner in the metro rather than trying to go it on our own.”

Harrisburg has experienced “quite a bit” of interest from developers on the north side of town approaching the growth boundary, she said.

A recent housing development, Artessa, broke ground on 300 acres annexed into the Harrisburg city limits at Highway 106 and Louise Avenue, for instance.

“So we officially touch,” Mack said, joking that “I like to call it (Sioux Falls) Harrisburg’s most successful suburb. In some instances, it’s easier to get to downtown Sioux Falls from Harrisburg than from east or west Sioux Falls.”

There also is a shared boundary between Harrisburg and Tea along I-29.

“Tea and Harrisburg are a mile apart right now, so all three jurisdictions will be meeting,” Tea city administrator Justin Weiland said.

“By formalizing this, there’s an understanding of all jurisdictions. It not only benefits the city for its planning purposes. I think it really also benefits those property owners that are in the outlaying growth areas, where they will know what jurisdictions they need to work with.”

Tea’s new comprehensive plan takes it west to Highway 17 and borders Harrisburg to the east, he said.

“That had always been unclear,” he said. “Harrisburg and Tea’s comprehensive plans always overlapped each other, and this will make it clearer.”

With the boundaries, each community agrees not to annex any territory within an adjacent community’s planning area without prior written consent.

The relationship among the three communities is as strong as it has ever been, Smith added.

“When the cities of Tea and Harrisburg and Lincoln County’s planning department come to the Sioux Falls City Council to show solidarity for regional planning … (it shows) they’re very willing partners to discuss regional planning efforts,” Smith said. “We will be there similarly to show that support.”

Sioux Falls is pursuing similar conversations with Brandon, Crooks and Hartford, recognizing growth also will necessitate establishing common plans, Smith said.

Going forward, communities will have to address shared investment needs. How is funding determined when a boundary road needs to be improved, for example?

But for now, planning with municipal communities is mostly big picture at this point, Smith said.

“It’s more 20,000 feet up: Let’s agree on things like a typical road section and major intersection locations and access points because those are the first things we all have challenges with when development is proposed.”

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