Staff Report on Request
Staff Report
City of Yelm
Community Development Department
To: Mayor Ron Harding Yelm City Council
From: Tami Merriman, Associate Planner
Date: November 6, 2006 (for November 14, 2006 Council Meeting)
Subj: Request to Circulate Annexation Petition
Recommendation
Reject the request to circulate a petition for annexation.
Background
Peter L. Hallas and adjoining property owners have requested Council approval to circulate a petition for annexation of 49.57 acres of property located at the eastern edge of the City’s
urban growth area between 103rd Avenue, Old McKenna Road, and SR 507.
The petitioners have also requested that the City annex the property along with a rezone to Large Lot Commercial (C-3) from the Moderate Density Residential (R-6) and Low Density Residential
(R-4) at which the property has already been pre-zoned.
Current Situation
Annexation Process
The annexation process is started with a request to circulate a petition for annexation. The City Council, at a public meeting, determines whether to accept, reject, or geographically
modify the proposed annexation, whether it requires the simultaneous adoption of the comprehensive plan, and whether it shall require the assumption of all or a portion of existing City
indebtedness.
If the Council accepts the request to circulate a petition, the applicant then must obtain sufficient signatures on the petition. A hearing is then scheduled before the City Council
on the proposed annexation. The Council may then adopt an ordinance which annexes the property into the City.
Property Description
The subject property is located adjacent to the east boundary of the Yelm City Limits and is bordered on the north by 103rd Avenue SE, to the east by Old McKenna Road SE, and the south
by SR 507. The property is approximately 49.57 acres in area and contains 7 parcels of land, all of which are unplatted. Three of the parcels border existing City limits, and the area
is surrounded by unincorporated land to the north and east, and bordered on the south by State Route 507.
The proposed annexation area is currently zoned Rural Residential 1 unit per 5 acres by Thurston County and pre-zoned as Moderate Density Residential (R-6) and Low Density Residential
(R-4) by the City upon annexation.
The applicant has provided a water right claim for a property within the proposed annexation area. The claim on its face states that the quantity of water rights claimed to 10 acre
feet per year. This water right claim has not been researched for validity, but assuming that it is a valid claim and the entire 10 acre feet per year were transferred to the City of
Yelm, this amount of water would serve approximately 30 units. The build-out of the annexation area at an average density of 3 units per acre would be 147 dwelling units.
Consistency with City Regulations
The Water Comprehensive Plan updated in September, 2002, states as interim water service policies:
Annexation of properties in the future water service area will only be allowed for parcels within an existing sewer LID area or parcels that provide at least enough water rights to the
City to allow service of the property seeking annexation.
The City of Yelm Comprehensive Plan identifies the ‘future zoning’ upon annexation to be Low Density Residential (R-4), which allows up to 4 dwelling units per acre, for three of the
parcels fronting on 103rd Avenue SE. The remaining parcels are pre-zoned Moderate Density Residential (R-6), which allows up to 6 dwelling units per acre.
In order to change the pre-zoning of the property from Moderate and Low Density Residential to Large Lot Commercial, a joint comprehensive plan amendment would have to be processed by
the City and approved by both Thurston County and the City of Yelm. As the Comprehensive Plan can only be updated once per year, this process could not be completed until November or
December of 2007.
Analysis
The proposed annexation is within the future water service area, but no properties within the proposed annexation are presently connected to City water or sewer service. The interim
policies of Water Comprehensive Plan allow properties in this situation to annex into the City when they provide at least enough water rights to the City to allow service of the property
seeking annexation.
The applicants have not shown that they control sufficient water rights to serve the proposed annexation.
The proposed annexation does make a logical City boundary, however annexing these properties would add three additional streets into the City grid and maintenance program.
Should the Council authorize the circulation of the annexation petition, the request for changing the future zoning to commercial will require an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan
and would require a showing that something has changed since the plan was initially adopted that warrants a change.
This finding will be difficult to show, in that the Yelm Retail & Commercial Development Opportunities Study prepared for the Thurston County Economic Development Council and the City
of Yelm by E. D. Hovee & Company, LLC indicates that:
“Yelm currently has 460 acres of non-downtown commercially designated land – of which 51% (or 234 acres) can be considered as vacant and/or redevelopable. The maximum anticipated need
for retail recapture plus growth and local commercial services to 2030 is also estimated at a combined total of approximately 234 acres – a relatively even balance of potential supply
and demand.”
Because the proposal is not consistent with the interim policies of the Water Comprehensive Plan, the Community Development Department recommends that the City Council reject the request
to circulate the annexation petition.