Annexation request grows in North Bend
January 15, 2009
By Michael Rowe
Another subdivision wants to become part of North Bend. Residents of the Wood River subdivision asked the North Bend City Council to annex their property at a Jan. 6 City Council meeting.
“Wood River folks have a nice neighborhood and make decent livings. We want to be included,” said Rob Manelski, president of the subdivision’s homeowners association.
North Bend was already considering annexing the Tanner and Mt. Si subdivisions. The council approved an ordinance accepting the petition of interest, and amending it to include the Wood River subdivision. This step will allow annexation supporters to coordinate with the city and circulate a final petition.
In order for the annexation to be successful, property owners representing 60 percent of the total assessed value of the affected property must support the annexation. The total assessed value of property in the annexation area, including the Wood River subdivision, is more than $167 million. Property owners representing more than $100 million in property will need to support the annexation in order to bring their property into North Bend. The combined property value of Wood River alone is $84 million.
Councilwoman Dee Williamson expressed the concern that if Wood River residents were not behind the annexation they could sink the city’s plans to bring the area into the city.
North Bend Public Works Director Ron Garrow told the council that there might be significant support for the annexation of Wood River into the city. Garrow explained that property owners representing 81 percent of the subdivision’s total accessed value voted in favor of joining the Utility Local Improvement District No. 6. He noted that if 81 percent favored annexation then Wood River by itself could provide the necessary 60 percent support needed to annex the whole area.
However, Garrow did point out that by expanding the annexation area to include more property, that there was a risk that the annexation would fail. In response to a question from councilman Jonathan Rosen, Garrow said that the inclusion of Wood River could potentially lower the cost to the city of Utility Local Improvement District No. 6. Savings could come from less expensive street improvements, because the city has lower standards for street construction than the county. Garrow said that more than a million dollars could be saved.
One challenge the city could face with annexing the Wood River subdivision is that it could create several islands of unincorporated county land within the city’s boundaries. Garrow said that the state’s Boundary Review Board is opposed to islands, but that it might be possible to annex the islands with the other properties. The islands are unincorporated properties adjacent to the subdivision’s north and southwest and southeast borders, including the River Glen Estates. A memo from Garrow to the council states that the Boundary Review Board might require inclusion of the islands with the other annexed properties.
Garrow also informed the council that a neighborhood near Opstad Elementary was also seeking to be annexed. Garrow said that the neighborhood’s petition of interest for annexation had a 62 percent support level. Garrow said that this annexation would be handled separately from the Wood River and Tanner annexations. The two annexations will proceed on parallel tracks, Garrow said.
Reach reporter Michael Bayless Rowe at mrowe@snovalleystar.com or 425-392-6434 Ext. 248.
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