Annexation advances

By JENNIFER CONWAY

Staff reporter

While the city was considering a potential massive expansion of Langley on Coles Road this week, plans to annex a small portion of Al Anderson Avenue also notched progress.

According to Langley city administrator Lynn Hicks, the city has heard from enough interested property owners in the area to go ahead with the annexation process.

On Wednesday, at the Langley City Council’s regular meeting, the council confirmed the fact that the property owners and registered voters in the area do in fact want to annex to the city.

The council made the motion to accept the proposal, which authorizes the submission of a petition for annexation.

Hicks said the next step is for those in favor of annexation to petition and get a majority of signatures from people living in the annexation area to acknowledge their support. For annexation to go ahead, a majority of registered voters residing in the area and a majority of property owners owning a majority of acreage in the area must sign on to the idea.

Once completed, the petition will go to the Island County Assessor’s Office and to the auditor’s office for validation. It then returns to council, which will hold a public hearing on the matter. From there it is up to council to approve the annexation.

Hicks said there are many reasons for an area to become part of the city, including inclusion into public works services, like police and sewer services. It also gives the property owners the right to subdivide their property, and build on or sell divided property.

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