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Bills would give property owners more say in how cities annex land

Vicki Kraft sponsored a bill to not allow cities to annex areas without their consent

By Jake Thomas, Columbian political reporter
Published: January 28, 2018, 6:03am

State Rep. Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, wants to end annexation without representation.

In response to the city of Vancouver reviving its plans to annex nearby areas, Kraft has introduced a pair of bills intended to reform the way cities bring adjacent land into their boundaries by giving property owners a greater say in the process. However, the bills are opposed by the cities of Vancouver and Battle Ground, as well as others who say the bills will create new problems.

In August of last year, the city of Vancouver completed its annexation of the Van Mall North area, placing about 1,270 acres and 5,528 people within its borders. Speaking Wednesday at a hearing of the House Local Government Committee, Kraft said some of those people had purchased their property expecting a home in unincorporated Clark County and aren’t happy about becoming residents of Vancouver.

“They had no voice,” said Kraft. “They had no vote in the process, and they essentially moved in and they got annexed in against many of their wills and their desires.”

In Washington, cities that operate sewer or water systems can enter into agreements with nearby property owners or developers to provide services. Cities can require property owners to sign a covenant stating they agree to be annexed in exchange for services. Under the direct petition method for annexations, a city can annex an area if property owners representing 60 percent of its total assessed value agree.

That was the basis for Vancouver’s annexation of Van Mall North. Kraft said some of these covenants were signed by developers and passed on to homeowners who had no say. She said other homeowners in the area were left with no choice but to sign the covenants. Kraft’s bill, HB 2788, would prohibit cities from requiring an owner of a property to enter these covenants as a condition of receiving utility services.

Along with state Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, Kraft has also sponsored HB 2789, which would repeal the direct petition method of annexations. This would leave two other methods for annexation — a public vote or a petition signed by a majority of homeowners in the territory who own no less than 50 percent of the value of the property to be annexed.

The city of Vancouver opposes both of the bills, said Mark Brown, the city’s lobbyist. He said the bills would upend the method of annexation that’s been overwhelmingly used by Washington cities for decades and make the process significantly more complicated. He also said it would conflict with the state’s Growth Management Act, which states that cities should be the provider of urban services.

“We have to have a reasonable process associated with extending services into unincorporated areas,” he said.

Battle Ground City Manager Jeff Swanson and City Councilor Shane Bowman, who was also representing the Association of Washington Cities, spoke against the bills at the hearing, saying they would complicate how the burgeoning city grows.

Swanson said some property owners outside city limits have problems with their water systems and have asked to be connected to Battle Ground’s services. He said the city asks that as a condition of being connected they not oppose annexation in the future. Prohibiting these covenants would make it more difficult for property owners to develop their land, he said.

Bowman said the bills would ultimately stymie growth by stopping the extension of utility services. He also said it would encourage the use of private wells and septic systems, which are considered less efficient.

HB 2789 is also opposed by the Washington State Association of Counties, as well as Seattle-based land-use group Futurewise.

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Columbian political reporter