East Wenatchee Moving Forward With Annexation Of 62 Acres

East Wenatchee is moving ahead with a plan to annex 62 acres of Douglas County land into the city limits. 

A property owner who owns a substantial share of the acreage has petitioned the city for the annexation. 

East Wenatchee Mayor Jerrilea Crawford says it'll be an important move forward for the city. 

"This is very exciting for us, because in my four-and-a-half years, plus my four years of council, this is the first opportunity we've had for a petition annexation," said Crawford. 

The acreage to be annexed is west and south of the intersection of Kentucky Avenue and 4th Street SE. 

It includes the Eastmont Baptist Church as well as apartments, duplex homes and open space. 

East Wenatchee Community Development Director Curtis Lillquist says it's a move that hasn't happened in the city for 30 years. 

“The last time a petition annexation was done in the city, I did some research, was 1994,” said Lilliquist. 

The "direct petition method" being used is also known as the "sixty percent petition method". It's the most commonly used method of annexation by cities and towns in Washington State. It requires the signatures of property owners representing 60 percent of the assessed value of the area proposed for annexation. 

State law requires the party initiating the direct petition to own no less than 10 percent of the of the assessed valuation of the property being sought for annexation. 

In this case, the initiating party is Sutton Apartments Two, LLC, which owns the Sutton Place Apartments. Sutton’s properties account for 32 percent of the assessed property within the 62 acres. 

The proposed area is eligible for annexation since it is within the City’s urban growth area and is adjacent to the existing city limits. 

The total area within the 62 acres is zoned for Residential Low and Medium Density. 

The East Wenatchee City Council passed a motion this week to accept the 62 acres for annexation under the existing zoning. The motion also places the 62 acres under city indebtedness. 

Sutton Apartments Two LLC will be required to circulate a petition and get property owners who own 60 percent of the assessed value within the 62 acers to sign the petition. 

The legal process requires numerous steps before the city can formally annex the property. The process is summarized below. 

• If the council chooses to allow this annexation to move forward, staff will create the 60% petition and provide it to the proponent for circulation. 
• Once staff receives the 60% petition back from the proponent, it will be transmitted to the Douglas County Assessor’s office for a determination of sufficiency. 
• If the Assessor’s office certifies the petition as sufficient then staff will bring a resolution to the city council setting a public hearing date and directing staff to provide appropriate notice to the public. 
• A public hearing will be held and after that the council will decide whether or not to pass a resolution notifying the Washington State Boundary Review Board for Douglas County (BRB) of the city’s intent to annex the specified area. 
• Staff would transmit the signed resolution in a packet to the BRB. 
• The BRB has 45 days from the official date of filing to invoke jurisdiction. If jurisdiction is invoked, the board has 120 days to hold a hearing and decide whether to accept, reject or modify the boundary. 
• After the BRB either approves the boundary or the 45 days closes without any action, the council may pass an ordinance. 
• The effective date described in the ordinance and is either a date specific or being 60 days after publication of the ordinance and notification of the required agencies and utility providers. 
• Lilliquist estimated 480 people now live within the 62 acres up for annexation, based 64 lots of duplex housing and 103 apartments in the apartment complex.