Agenda Item - 2001-04-09 (05) CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
AGENDA REPORT SUMMARY
MEETING DATE: April 9, 2001
SUBJECT: Annexation
EST. FISCAL ATTACHMENTS: NOTICED (Date):
IMPACT:
• Council Report dated April '
5, 2001 by David Powell,
City Attorney Ordinance no.:
STAFF COST: $0 • Memorandum from
Resolution no.:
BUDGETED: Councilor Jack Hoffman
Y N Previous Council
consideration:
FUNDING SOURCE:
CITY ATTORNEY ASST. CITY MANAGER CITY MANAGER
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Signoff/date Signoff/date Signoff/date
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To: Judie Hammerstad, Mayor .
Members of Lake Oswego City Council
Doug Schmitz, City Manager
From: David D. Powell, City Attorney
Date: April 5, 2001
Subject: Annexation
ANNEXATION AUTHORITY
Historically cities have been considered political subdivisions of the state, with the state
legislature having complete power to establish the parameters of municipal authority. This was
true in Oregon until 1906, when the state constitution was amended to establish the right of local
"home rule.i1
However, the "home rule" provisions of the constitution only give citizens of a city the authority
to enact legislation governing themselves (intramural powers). Home rule charters cannot give
cities authority to act outside their municipal boundaries (extramural powers). Such extramural
authority can only be granted by the state.
Annexation (the act of bringing unincorporated territory within the city's corporate boundaries)
is an exercise of extramural authority, requiring authorization by the state legislature.
STATE LAW
The state legislature has granted cities the authority to annex contiguous unincorporated property
in the following circumstances:
By election
➢ Vote of residents in the territory to be annexed plus a vote of the residents of the
city (votes must not be more than 12 months apart).
➢ Vote only of the residents in the territory to be annexed. A vote of city residents
is not necessary if the city charter does not require it. However, the city must hold
Article IV,section 1(5); Article XI, section 2. l 5
Council Report
Annexation
April 5, 2001
Page 2
a public hearing allowing city residents to be heard on the question of the
annexation.
Consensual annexations (no election)
➢ Consent of all property owners and not less than 50% of electors (registered
voters) within the territory to be annexed.
➢ Consent of a majority of electors plus the owners of more than half the land in the
territory to be annexed(if certain deadlines are met).
Non-consensual annexations (no election)
➢ The Health Division determines that annexation is necessary to avoid a danger to the
public (usually involves the need for sanitary sewer connections).
➢ The territory to be annexed is an "island" (completely surrounded by the city, or
surrounded by the city and a body of water.)
CHARTER
The Lake Oswego City Charter requires a city-wide election in order to annex any property in the
Stafford Basin that is outside the July 1, 1998 Urban Service Boundary and Urban Growth Boundary.
An exception to the election requirement is made for those properties in the area that were designated by
Metro as "First Tier Urban Reserve Areas" in 1997.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Goal 14 (Urbanization) of the Lake Oswego Comprehensive Plan includes a number of
regulatory policies relating to annexations:
10. The urban services boundary (comprehensive plan map) is Lake Oswego's
ultimate growth area within which the city shall be the eventual provider
of the full range of urban services.
11. Unincorporated property shall be required to annex prior to the receipt of
City sanitary sewer service. City water service to unincorporated
properties shall require prior annexation or execution of a consent for
future annexation. In no case will a consent for future annexation be
accepted where immediate annexation is feasible.
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Council Report
Annexation
April 5, 2001
Page 3
12. Lake Oswego shall initiate island annexations to:
(a) Create Logical city boundaries;
(b) Provide economic and efficient provision of city services to
existing and proposed development within the subject area, and to
adjacent land; and
(c) Equitably distribute costs for those city services enjoyed by
residents of island areas.
13. Ensure that annexation of new territory or expansion of Lake Oswego's
Urban Service Boundary does not:
(a) Detract from the City's ability to provide services to existing
residents; and
(b) Result in property owners paying for urban services which do not
benefit them.
14. Prior to the annexation of non-island properties, the City shall ensure
urban services are available and adequate to serve the subject property, or
will be made available in a timely manner by the City or a developer,
commensurate with the scale of the proposed development. Urban
Services consist of water, sanitary sewer, surface water management,
police and fire protection, parks, and transportation including: streets,
transit, pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
15. The City shall, to the extent permitted by law, enter into and maintain
intergovernmental agreements with any provider of sanitary sewer or
water service within the Urban services Boundary, to require annexation
agreements for unincorporated lands which require either service.
21. The City shall require annexation, prior to review of development permits,
of unincorporated property proposed for development which requires City
sewer or water facilities.
DISCRETIONARY POLICY DECISION
The decision whether to annex property to the city is generally a policy choice within the
discretion of the City Council. However, the Council must also determine whether the proposed
annexation meets the requirements of state law, the city charter and the comprehensive plan.
PROCEDURE
Because they involve application of the policies of the comprehensive plan, annexation hearings
are land use proceedings. The annexation of a single or small group of properties is a quasi-
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Council Report
Annexation
April 5, 2001
Page 4
judicial matter, requiring Council members to avoid ex parte contacts, bias, and conflicts of
interest. Annexation proceedings are conducted in the same manner as other land use hearings,
except that the Council conducts the first (and only) evidentiary hearing, rather than reviewing a
record created by the Development Review Commission or Planning Commission.
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Dunn Carney Allen
Higgins & Tongue LLP
Attorneys at Law
Memorandum t -Mikt4 � a
To : Mayor Hammerstad and the Lake Oswego Date : April 5, 2001
City Counsel
From : Jack D. Hoffman File No : LAK13-4
Re : Annexation
Lake Oswego is not unique in this country in having an annexation policy with respect
to contiguous pockets of unincorporated land. Annexation, or the process of adjusting
municipal boundaries to bring adjacent unincorporated areas into an existing city is widely
used throughout the country. This paper is a compilation of Internet articles, annexation plans
and policies from other jurisdictions around the country.
WHAT IS ANNEXATION?
Annexation is a process by which a city can extend its municipal services, regulations,
voting privileges and taxing authority to the unincorporated areas adjacent to it. Annexation is
a means of ensuring that residents and businesses, outside a city's corporate limits, who benefit
from access to city's facilities and services, share the tax burden associated with constructing
and maintaining those facilities and services. Annexing unincorporated areas results in
"cleaner" city boundaries that facilitate the providing of municipal services.
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR LAKE OSWEGO.
Lake Oswego derives its responsibility to regulate land use from the State of Oregon.
Oregon statutes set out requirements for local government to follow and Lake Oswego in turn
has adopted its own ordinances in compliance with these statues.
Under the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) Chapter 197, the city was required to
develop an overall long-range plan for land use, called its comprehensive plan. The Lake
Oswego comprehensive plan provides for a full range of land uses, such as open space,
residential, commercial, industrial and community services. The Comprehensive Plan map
shows specifically where these general types of land uses are to be located. The policies of the
comprehensive plan are in accordance with the state's land use planning goals.
Lake Oswego, like other Oregon cities, is authorized to annex territory in order to
provide urbanized areas with municipal services and to exercise regulatory authority necessary
to protect public health, safety and welfare. Annexations can be initiated either by a city or by
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petition from property owners. ORS 222.750 governs the annexation of unincorporated areas
surrounded by territory that is within the city limits, also known as "island annexation."
Lake Oswego's Comprehensive Plan specifically provides for annexations. Goal
Fourteen, Urbanization, has as an underlying principle the following:
" The City shall, in conjunction with adjacent jurisdictions and
Metro, control urban sprawl and enhance livability by managing
growth in an orderly and efficient manner to establish stable and
predictable land use pattern."
The goal of Goal Fourteen is as follows:
"Lake Oswego shall ensure that the rate, amount, type, location
and cost of population growth and development within or outside
of the Urban Service Boundary will not diminish the quality of
life the City has presently attained."
Under this goal,there are four specific policies relating to annexation:
10. The urban services boundary (comprehensive plan map)
is Lake Oswego's ultimate growth area within which the
city shall be the eventual provider of the full range of
urban services.
11. Unincorporated property shall be required to annex prior
to the receipt of City sanitary sewer service. City water
service to unincorporated properties shall require prior
annexation or execution of a consent for future
annexation. In no case will a consent for future
annexation be accepted where immediate annexation is
feasible.
12. Lake Oswego shall initiate island annexations to:
(a) Create logical city boundaries;
(b) Provide economic and efficient provision of city
services to existing and proposed development
within the subject area, and to adjacent land; and,
(c) Equitably distribute costs for those city services
enjoyed by residents of island areas.
13. Ensure that annexation of new territory or expansion of
Lake Oswego's Urban Service Boundary does not:
(a) Detract from the City's ability to provide services
to existing residents; and,
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(b) Result in property owners paying for urban
services which do not benefit them.
18. Lake Oswego shall be responsible for development,
coordination and implementation of the Public Facility
Plan (PFP) for lands within the urban services boundary
to ensure predictable and logical provision of urban
services to lands within the USB.
INVOLUNTARY ANNEXATION IS A CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE.
Changes in land use patterns often generate interest and concern in a community. How
people feel about annexation depends a lot on whether they live inside or outside of a city. For
those who live inside the city limits, they look at the people in the neighborhoods just outside
the city limits and observe that those neighbors use the city streets, play in the city parks, shop
at the city's businesses, have access to city sewer and city water. Therefore they should be
annexed and pay the same property taxes as those who live within the city. On the other hand,
those who live in an unincorporated area typically strongly object to being annexed. They
dislike change, and do not want to be forced to pay increased property taxes for no perceived
value.
Annexation proceedings elicit strong emotional reactions from the participants. High
levels of tension often dominate the entire process. Annexation battles can be protracted by
strong feelings on both sides. Cities and unincorporated areas adamantly support their own
perspectives because the decision to annex or not to annex requires one of the parties to lose.
And for those outside the city, losing the fight means in their minds, losing their way of life.
Thus is created a conflict between the competing views of municipal governments on one side
and individualism on the other. The stakes are high,the emotions are real.
ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR ANNEXATION.
Those who favor annexation point to the small and large pockets of incorporated land
scattered around a city, making the provision of municipal type services to many of these areas
both inefficient and expensive. When a city is bordered by an urban area that is not part of the
incorporated city, those residents draw upon the services and facilities of the core city and do
not pay for all the benefits they receive. The proponents of annexation argue that the city
provides a subsidy to the unincorporated areas immediately adjacent to the city. They argue
that the fire department provides fire protection at a contractual price, which is less than the
actual cost. The police department provides crime protection and prevention to those
unincorporated residents working in and using the city. The residents of the unincorporated
area use the library, and the library operating expenses allocated to the out of city library users
often, and do, exceed revenues collected from them. Non city residents use city parks and
recreation programs
Unincorporated areas adjacent to cities often benefit in many ways from city parks,
recreational facilities, streets, utilities, and other facilities and programs, often without
contributing a proportionate share of the cost to the city. People who favor annexation claim
that it's fair and equitable to annex.
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Citizens who live just outside city limits use city streets, shop in the city, sometimes
work there and get the benefit of police protection while they are in the city, but don't pay their
share of taxes to support the city infrastructure.
Annexation of areas immediately adjacent to cities is critical in establishing an urban
order and effective government. Properly used, annexation can consolidate the urban area as a
unified whole. City administrative and technical personnel are able to address the outlying
areas municipal needs and do this in a manner consistent with the policies of the annexing city.
With respect to the outlying unincorporated areas, there is a need for unified planning and
zoning. By means of annexation a city's zoning ordinance can be extended to the adjacent
areas in a logical manner, thus helping to assure orderly growth. Coordinated action is much
easier to achieve when the fringe area becomes part of the city. In the long run, involuntary
annexations make more sense, than allowing areas to incorporate their own governments next
to existing cities. As a general concept, it is best to consolidate city type services such as
police and fire protection, street maintenance and sewer service. In other words, one provider
is better than five or ten. By allowing annexation, you eliminate service duplication.
After annexation, the political boundaries will more nearly reflect the true and existing
sociological, economic, cultural and physical boundaries of the city. Those who favor
annexation stress that the geographic integrity, character, and unique lifestyle of the various
individual neighborhoods, which are annexed, should be preserved. Efforts should be made to
clearly identify each neighborhood that has been annexed and its unique characteristics that
add to the quality of life in a city. The ultimate goal of a city's annexation program is to one
day have a unified jurisdiction representing the entire urban community with active and
empowered neighborhoods and efficient services.
There are several common reasons to annex, which are discussed in the annexation
handbook published by the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.
"Proper annexation of areas adjacent to cities is often crucial to
establish and in maintaining urban order and affective
government."
"The growth of separate fringe areas may produce a complex
pattern of government by multiple jurisdictions—city, county and
special districts — that can lead to administrative confusion,
inefficiency, duplication and excessive costs."
"A logical solution may be annexation. Properly used,
annexation preserves a growing urban area as a unified whole."
"Annexation is often preferable to the incorporation of new cities,
since new incorporations in urban areas may cause conflicts of
authority, the absence of cooperation, duplication of facilities and
an imbalance between taxable resources and municipal needs."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO ANNEXATION.
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"Involuntary annexation" is a situation feared by many residents of an unincorporated
area. They do not want to be swallowed up by adjacent cities without their consent. Those
residents who are targeted to be annexed always ask two key questions to which they want
answers:
(1) What benefits will the annexation provide; and
(2) What will it cost?
Those who oppose annexation do not want to pay increased property taxes. They
believe that the city does not have much to offer in return. In their view, a library card and a
right to vote in city elections are not an even trade for higher taxes. Those who oppose
annexation will argue that they chose to build and live outside the city in order to avoid taxes
for services they do not want. Some residents in unincorporated areas may wish to retain the
area's "rural" character, and thus oppose annexation because it is a step toward greater
urbanization. Some residents of outlying neighborhoods oppose annexation because they
believe that they will lose their community or neighborhood identity. Some residents have a
general distrust of government and city politics and therefore oppose annexation.
Those who argue against annexation argue that government exists only with the consent
of the governed. That is why they support the right of persons proposed for annexation to vote
on the issue. Opponents to annexation claim that the process of annexation is undemocratic.
They feel robbed of their autonomy. However, most city officials reply that it would be
undemocratic to give the suburbs the right to vote on annexation. Officials argue that if
residents of a small community can block the wishes of a larger community they would, in
essence, have more voting authority than the larger city. This violates the American notion of
one-person one vote.
Residents outside the city argue that they have been self sufficient for some time
outside of the city and do not want to become part of the city. To these people, annexation
would mean higher taxes and strict land use regulations in exchange for very little increase in
services.
A common refrain for those who live outside the city in one of our incorporated areas is
as follows:
"I moved here in the first place to be outside the city and pay
lower taxes. I already get all the services I need. I do not want to
be part of your city."
BENEFITS OF ANNEXATION.
Citizens who are annexed into a city typically enjoy significant benefits and increased
levels of essential services as a result of annexation. When joining the city they will have:
(1) Enhanced police protection and quicker response time in emergencies.
(2) A stronger voice in community decisions and directions. Because city hall is
practically next door, residents can help shape their community and maintain neighborhood
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quality by getting involved in the neighborhood association planning process, voting in the city
elections and participating on local boards and commissions.
(3) Access to neighborhood programs.
(4) Funding for neighborhood projects through the neighborhood grant program.
(5) Improved street maintenance and 24-hour emergency utility response.
(6) Free fire safety and emergency preparedness training.
(7) Priority and advanced registration for parks and community services.
(8) More effective land use planning.
CONCLUSION.
The primary goal of Lake Oswego's annexation policy is to ensure efficient delivery of
adequate public services to those unincorporated areas in the way most beneficial to all the
citizens of the community. Annexation is critical to the long term well being of Lake Oswego
and needs to be carried out in accordance with established policies.
It is a policy of Lake Oswego that unincorporated lands within the urban service area
should eventually be annexed to Lake Oswego. These policies are intended to:
(1) Eliminate the inefficiencies and confusion that result from provision of urban
services to scattered unincorporated areas surrounded by Lake Oswego; and
(2) Empower the residents of these areas to participate directly in elections and
decisions of the surrounding cities, whose decisions are most likely to impact
them and whose services and facilities they are often already using or dependent
upon.
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REFERENCES
1. City of San Marcos Annexation Policies
http://www.ci.san.marcos.tx.us
2. City of Bellevue Planning and Community Development
http://www.ci.bellvue.wa.us
3. Vancouver Long Range Planning Services Annexation
http://www.ci.vancouver.wa.us
4. Salem Land Use Network
Http://www.teleport.com
5. Minutes of Mont Clair City Counsel
http://www.ci.montclair.ca.us
6. Ad Hoc Committee Report on Annexation Policy
http://www.licia.org
7. City of Lafayette in the Annexation Policies
http://www.city.lafayett.in.us\government
8. Multnomah County Community Development Framework
http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us
9. City of Chico Community Development Department — Planning
Division
http://www.chico.ca.us
10. Metro at Augusta
http://www.augustachronical.com
11. Annexation Plans
http://www.lcd.state.or.us
12. Editorial: Annexation Bills Merit a Good Look
http://www.hoosiertimes.com
13. Annexation: Gulf Shores Audience Divided
http://www.alabamalib
14. Modem Civil War: Annexation Pitts Neighbor Against Neighbor
http://www.uts.cc.utexas.edu
15. Lessons in Annexation—Why Annex?
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http:\1www.mountainx.com
16. Dallas Morning News
http:\\www.dallasmorning news.com
17. Springfield, Illinois Public Works—Annexation Guidelines
http:\\www.Springfield.i 1.us
18. Annexation
http:\\www.andoverks.com
19. Santa Clara County Planning Office—General Plan
http:\\www.santaclaracounty.org
20. City of Bend Annexation Policy
http:\\www.ci.bend.or.us
21. City of Tumwater Annexation Policies
http:\\www.olywa.net
22. Municipal Research Service Center Annexation Handbook
http:\\websrvOl.co.snohomish.wa.us
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