August 18, 2009 Primary Election Ballot

Summary
The unincorporated area of North Highline is located between Seattle and Burien and is one of the largest remaining unincorporated areas in King County, with a population of about 33,000. It is served by the Highline School District, by two fire districts, and by the King County Sheriff’s office.  North Highline is primarily residential with small commercial areas and relatively low assessed property values.  A financial feasibility study, required as part of the State’s Growth Management Act and initiated by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (UAC), was conducted in 2005 by Nesbitt Planning & Management.  The study determined that the area’s tax base and potential revenues would be insufficient to fund the basic expenses of a city and concluded that an incorporation of the area as a new city would be financially infeasible. 

Analyses were also conducted of annexations to the City of Burien and the City of Seattle and determined that either such proposed annexation could work.  Both cities have considered the unincorporated area of North Highline as a “potential annexation area.”  

The North Highline UAC voted in 2005 to recommend annexation to the City of Burien.  Surveys and citizen feedback indicated that the residents of the unincorporated area were divided, with many wanting to remain unincorporated and the rest divided almost equally between preferring annexation to Burien and Seattle.  Many residents of the White Center and Boulevard Park portions of the area which are closest to Seattle felt strongly in favor of annexation to Seattle. 

The Seattle City Council, however, originally voted not to consider annexing the area because it was not eligible to receive the state tax support other annexing cities receive.  Since then, the Legislature in 2009 authorized such payments to Seattle. 

During 2008 negotiations were conducted between Burien, Seattle, King County, and the two fire districts about dividing the area.  A memorandum of agreement was negotiated in December 2008 and the City of Burien proceeded to propose annexation of the southern half of the unincorporated area, bounded by 116^th and 112^th in the north.  The area consists of about 2.7 square miles and includes a population of 14,350.  The UAC voted to support this partial annexation to Burien.  The Boundary Review Board also voted in support of the annexation.  The remaining, northern, portion of the area, including White Center and Boulevard Park, might be annexed by either Burien or Seattle at a later date.

ARGUMENTS FOR THE MEASURE

The proponents of the annexation to Burien made the following arguments for the measure:

• The North Highline annexation area is a community with a distinct working class identity similar to Burien’s.  Annexation would reunite a community that was artificially divided 16 years ago when Burien became a city.  
• The annexation to Burien would retain the small town feel the community is used to and would allow closer access to local government and local services.
• Burien itself is a young city of 31,000 (incorporated in 1993) and this partial annexation would be a manageable addition that the city could successfully handle.  While there is little commercial tax base in this southern portion of the annexation area, the property tax base and utility taxes will generate sufficient revenues to provide the needed services.
• The City of Burien contracts for police services with the King County Sheriff and would expand the contract to include the annexed area, ensuring similar levels of service.
• The annexation area would retain fire services from Fire District 2, a level of service that local residents value.
• Burien has an existing functional municipal government and well developed public services and programs that will appropriately serve the new annexed area.
• Burien will receive state funds to offset the costs of this annexation during an initial period during which the City will staff up, review zoning polices and develop a capital improvement plan for the new area.

• The annexation is on the August primary ballot to move the process forward expeditiously.  The North Highline community has been working on this and waiting for this long enough.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE MEASURE

Arguments against the measure were articulated by opponents of annexation to Burien:

• White Center has always been the southern frontier of Seattle.  White Center and surrounding neighborhoods feel like they belong to the urban area.

• The North Highline community is very diverse; at least half of the population are people of color who moved there in recent years in search of affordable housing.  These residents do not feel an affiliation with the City of Burien which is demographically much older, more white and consists largely of people who have lived there for 30 to 40 years. 

• The elected leadership of Burien, the UAC, and the Fire District is not representative of the diversity of the community.

• The North Highline community tends to have larger families, higher poverty rates, lower incomes and its residents rely more on government services such as affordable housing that Seattle can provide.

• Seattle will be able to provide a much higher level of services.  Services such as neighborhood planning, environmental programs, arts and cultural affairs, small business support, and youth programming are just a few “big city” services Seattle could offer.

• White Center has higher per capita crime rates and youth gang problems which can be better handled by the Seattle Police Department. 

• Property taxes would be identical in Burien or Seattle but in Seattle the level of services would be much higher.  Water and sewer rates would be lower in Seattle.

• Residents of North Highline already have Seattle mailing addresses which protect property values.

• The City of Burien does not have the scale to handle such a large annexation.  The Burien business district is struggling and has many vacant storefronts.  The city is already spread thin and this added burden could bankrupt the city.

• The North Highline community should stay together, not be split in two.  The two parts of the community should have equitable services.

• The decision to place this annexation on the August primary ballot is a political calculation designed to ensure a low voter turnout. 

• The current proposal was developed when Seattle could not avail itself of state funding and had already voted against annexation. Seattle is now able to access such funding.  This is a significant development that counsels against moving ahead now.  Burien and Seattle should enter into further discussions and develop a better plan which could be placed on a general election ballot at a later date when voters can be given a clear choice.

RECOMMENDATION and RATIONALE

The Municipal League Board of Trustees recommends voters support the partial annexation of the North Highline area to Burien. 

The North Highline unincorporated area extends from the very diverse and urban White Center community on the southern edge of Seattle to a largely residential area of golf courses and territorial views with a suburban feeling in the south.  Surveys of the community over several years have revealed a distinct division between residents who want urban services and feel a strong connection to Seattle on the one hand and residents who prefer the small-town and more accessible feeling of an unincorporated or Burien affiliation on the other.  A division into two annexation areas, one to Burien and one to Seattle, is appropriate in light of the different community character, demographics and preferences.  Drawing the line between the two areas will necessarily be somewhat arbitrary.  The current proposed annexation boundary along 116^th and 112^th Streets appears to divide the unincorporated area along significant arterials and about equally in terms of size and population.

The Municipal League has been a strong supporter of the region’s growth management goals and believes that it is a matter of some urgency that communities move forward with annexations of unincorporated areas.  The North Highline annexation area has been studied for more than five years.  Citizen groups have been actively planning and advocating for annexation for many years.  This partial annexation is a viable plan that should move forward.  It is hoped that the remaining northern area of North Highline that encompasses White Center and Boulevard Park can vote to be annexed to Seattle in the near future.