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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/11/2022 04. Annexation Strategy Report SummaryB US INE S S O F T HE C I T Y C O UNC I L YAK I M A, WAS HING T O N AG E ND A S TAT E M E NT I tem No. 4. For Meeting of: October 11, 2022 I T E M T IT L E :A nnexation Strategy Report Summary S UB M IT T E D B Y:J oan Davenport, Community Development Director S UM M ARY E X P L ANAT I O N: During the J uly 12, 2022 Yakima City Council Retreat, a request was made to provide information related to annexations to the City. A nnexation is the process of bringing unincorporated land into the City boundary. Annexation is limited to land that is located within the City's Urban Growth B oundary. The attached report provides a cursory review of the process of annexation, as well as a summary of the unincorporated regions within the City of Yakima Growth A rea. A s required by the Growth Management A ct (G MA ) , the City of Yakima must adopt their update of the Comprehensive Plan by J une 30, 2026. I n preparation of the Comprehensive Plan update, Yakima County will commence review of the Urban Growth Areas for all cities in 2023 or 2024, as well as begin the process of projecting population allocations. E valuation of any Growth Area changes are the first step in G MA updates. I T E M B UD G E T E D:NA S T RAT E G I C P RI O RI T Y:E conomic Development AP P RO V E D F O R S UB M IT TAL B Y T HE C IT Y M ANAG E R RE C O M M E ND AT I O N: P rovide direction to staff, if further information is requested regarding annexation or Growth Area B oundary changes. AT TAC HM E NT S : Description Upload Date Type Annexation Strategy Report Summary 10/4/2022 Backup Material 1 1 MEMORANDUM To: Bob Harrison, City Manager From: Joan Davenport, Community Development Director Date: October 11, 2022 Subject: Annexation Strategy Report Summary During the Yakima City Council Retreat on July 12, 2022, a request was made to provide information regarding annexations to the City. Annexation is the process of bringing unincorporated land into the City boundary. Several current factors shape the City of Yakima policy and rules of procedures for annexation: 1. The City of Yakima is a First-Class City; 2. The City of Yakima is mandated to participate in the procedures of the Growth Management Act (GMA); 3. The City of Yakima as owner and operator of the Yakima Regional wastewater treatment plant, participates in a 3-Party Wholesale Sewer Service Agreement with Union Gap and the Terrace Heights Sewer District. All annexation of land to the City of Yakima must be within the Urban Area Boundary. This boundary, established in 1992, is also the City of Yakima public sewer service boundary. The Cities of Union Gap, Selah and Moxee all have their own Urban Area Boundary. The unincorporated area known as Terrace Heights is included within the City of Yakima Urban Growth Boundary. Yakima County is the arbitrator for Urban Growth Areas. If the City of Yakima desires to expand, contract or modify their Urban Area, the request to change the boundary goes to Yakima County. This is one of the first processes that occurs in the discussion of Comprehensive Plan Updates. The Update to the City of Yakima Comprehensive Plan is due to be submitted for approval to State Department of Commerce on June 30, 2026. Washington State law allows for different methods of annexation to a First-Class City, such as Yakima which is required to plan under the Growth Management Act. By far, the most commonly used method is the petition method: 1. Old or Traditional Petition Method – Initiated by a petition from property owners in the area and requires approval from owners of property representing 60% of the assessed value of the proposed annexation area. 2. New Petition Method – Initiated by a petition from property owners in the area and requires support of property owners representing a majority of the area proposed for annexation and of a majority of the voters in the area. 3. Election Method – Requires approval of the voters in the proposed annexation area. This is the least common method of annexation, unless the annexation is initiated by the city. 4. Municipal Purpose Annexation- land must be owned by the City of Yakima and not contiguous to the existing City boundary Yakima Annexation Recent Efforts As the Council is aware, annexation activity over the last decade or so has been smaller areas consisting mostly of vacant land which is ready for urban level development. Many property owners are motivated to join the City of Yakima to reduce the sewer connection charges and rates to customers. 2 2 The last large area annexation to the City of Yakima was the “Occidental Annexation” in 2007 when the City annexed Apple Tree Golf Course and the region southwest of Washington Avenue & South 56th Avenue (City Ordinance 2007-07). At that time, a petition was filed by the Borton family with the City of Yakima to annex approximately 1,024 acres (1.6 square miles). The petition included signatures for 17 large acreage parcels, each of which had signed an “Outside Utility Agreement” (OUA). The OUA’s included a clause regarding future annexation in exchange for sewer service. Parcels with OUA’s represented 75.89% of the annexation area, which was enough to anchor the annexation area. Annexation Feasibility for Yakima The map below identifies 5 regions within the City of Yakima Growth Area that will be discussed in this summary document. Size of acreage estimates are provided in this report, but no further detailed analysis has been developed at this time.  Area 1: Terrace Heights  Area 2: South Airport to Ahtanum Road  Area 3: Bachelor Creek, Spring Creek to Wiley City  Area 4: West Valley to Dazet and Estes Roads  Area 5: Northwest Scenic Road to Cowiche Creek Area 1: Terrace Heights. Approximately 8 square miles, east of the Yakima River. This area maintains a public water district and sewer service territory as a wholesale purchaser from the City of Yakima. Via a contract, Terrace Heights district also provides sewer service to the City of Moxee. The City of Yakima does not have any Outside Utility Agreements (OUA’s) in this vicinity. It is estimated by the US Census Bureau that approximately 8,917 persons live in this unincorporated place. Yakima County provides public safety services to this location. Terrace Heights Elementary School is located in this area, which is part of East Valley School District. 3 3 Area 2: South Airport to Ahtanum Road. Approximately 1.0 square miles in size. The southern boundary of this area is Ahtanum Road. It is southwest of the airport and south of SOZO Park. At present, most of the land is vacant and zoned for residential use, but some area could be suited to industrial or commercial uses, due to the proximity to the airport. 100-Year Floodplain and Floodway corridors traverse the area. Union Gap’s Growth Boundary is south of Ahtanum Road. On August 17, 2022, property owners in this area submitted a Notice of Intent to Commence Annexation for approximately 90 acres south west of the SOZO park. The annexation petition covers less than 20% of Area 2. Area 3: Bachelor Creek, Spring Creek to Wiley City. Approximately 1.8 square miles in size. This area extends southwest to include the unincorporated community of Wiley City. This area has considerable land encumbered by 100-year Floodplain and Floodway of multiple streams flowing toward Wide Hollow Creek and ultimately the Yakima River. Wiley City was once a terminus of the Yakima Valley Trolley line. Area 4: West Valley to Dazet and Estes Road. Approximately 3.4 square miles. This area has been subject to considerable urban development and is largely zoned residential. Multiple east-west arterial streets traverse the area, but few north -south streets are continuous at this time. West valley High School and Cottonwood Elementary School are located in this annexation region and part of West Valley School District. Area 5: Northwest Scenic Road to Cowiche Creek. Approximately 1.87 square miles in size. This region has considerable topographic elevation changes and some steep slopes. Cowiche Creek provides a natural boundary on the north side of the area. The region is currently sparsely populated with some standing fruit orchards. There is also the opportunity of fairly rapid development in this area given development interest in housing in this area. Recommendations for Annexation Efforts: Of the five regions noted in this summary report, here is a cursory assessment of the potential for annexation.  Area 2 and Area 4 have the greatest potential for processing of annexation requests. They are least likely to be challenged by the Boundary Review Board, and have considerable vacant land.  Area 3 (Wiley City) region has significant flood plain and flood channel regions which make the entire vicinity less suited to urban level development. This area may be considered for removal from the UGA due to floodplain/floodway and environmental constraints. Given the amount of water issues, this area isn’t the best option for urban level housing development.  Area 5 (Scenic Road) has topographic challenges that constrain gravity flow public sewer and may necessitate some lift stations and other costly engineering solutions. However, the area is very desirable for residential development and is adjacent to well-developed residential neighborhoods on the south side of Scenic Road.  Area 1 (Terrace Heights) is characterized by significant urban development and services. a) Even partial incorporation of Terrace Heights area requires delivery of public services at the time of annexation. b) There are no Outside Utility Agreements in place in this area, so petition method will be the primary annexation process. c) Boundary Review Board will likely be interested and assume jurisdiction for review of petitions for this area and likely require a public hearing. d) Under the 3-Party Sewer Service Agreement, Terrace Heights is allocated 4% of the plant capacity (while Union Gap has 8.1% and the City of Yakima has 87.9%). There may be some 4 4 opportunity to examine capacity allocations with Terrace Heights. The City of Yakima would assume the usage inside the annexation area, which would free up part of the Terrace Heights allocation. e) There are opportunities for commercial and industrial development in this area. There is also an opportunity with Pacific North West University to better integrate the university and its student population into the City of Yakima with enhanced transit service from the University to the downtown.  If the Council recommends a pro-active annexation strategy, service costs and revenues should be evaluated for each of the above-listed areas in order to estimate service costs and personnel needs. City services need to be provided to any annexed area, including, but not limited to, law enforcement, fire, codes, animal control, transit, and planning.  For more information, MRSC has a very well-written comprehensive Annexation publication that can be found here: https://mrsc.org/getmedia/f7797a3e-d87b-4875-b70a-229a082d7ef3/Annexation-By- Washington-Cities-And-Towns.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf. Staff can provide a hard copy upon request. 5