Council reviews two annexation notices; staff recommends modifying boundaries and returning with resolutions

City staff presented two notice‑of‑intent annexation filings and council members debated next steps at the Enumclaw City Council meeting on April 27.

Community Development Director Chris Massenet told the council the city received two petitions in March seeking annexation of mostly vacant, residentially zoned land. "The city has recently received 2 annexation requests," Massenet said, and staff laid out two possible study areas: one near the Roosevelt Avenue roundabout on the west side and one east of town near the King County fairgrounds and expo center.

Massenet said water and sewer are available near both sites and that staff recommends modifying the proposed boundaries to include additional adjoining parcels to produce a more regular city boundary and to comply with comprehensive plan policies. With the added parcels staff estimated the combined area would be roughly 38 acres with an assessed value of about $8.5 million.

Council members pressed staff on the process and consequences. Massenet summarized the statutory petition route: property owners must secure signatures representing 60% of assessed valuation to proceed, the county verifies signatures, and the Boundary Review Board reviews the filing and may require changes. "Once those are secured, the signatures are sent to the county, the county verifies them and sends us a letter back," he said.

Members discussed whether to process the two filings together or separately. A council member on the Community & Economic Development committee said the committee recommended running the petitions separately to avoid concentrating assessed value from one applicant and to treat discontinuous areas independently. The council also asked staff to consult the city attorney about whether applicants could be required to pay for a city consultant to manage annexation work absent sufficient staff capacity.

City staff did not request final action at the meeting. Instead the council indicated by nods and comments that it was open to staff preparing two separate draft resolutions (one per annexation) that would accept, reject or modify the proposed areas, and return within the statutory timeline for the legislative decision.

Next steps: staff will consult with the city attorney about procedural options and costs, prepare draft resolutions reflecting the council’s direction to modify the areas, and return to council for formal action within the statutory time window.