Another Property Owner Wants Rural Land Annexed into Woodinville

Another Sammamish Valley property owner is seeking annexation in to the City of Woodinville.

Joseph Chan contacted the city more than a year ago requesting that his 11 acres on the east side of the 140th Place NE in unincorporated King County, be included in the city limits. Woodinville city staff told Chan only King County has the power to move the Urban Growth Boundary and allowed land designated rural into a city. Chan’s request was never brought before the city council.

“We told Mr. Chan that he would have to get county approval,” said Alexandra Sheeks, assistant to the city manager. “He would need to get the county to move the Urban Growth Boundary to allow his property to be annexed.”

Seven other property owners on the west side of 140th Place NE, have , many of which are developed (, ,  to name a few), into the city limits in direct opposition of the King County Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan designates the Sammamish Valley as rural. In order for the city to annex those properties, the county needs to move the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).

The King County Comprehensive Plan is currently undergoing a mandated review (). Under revisions proposed by County Executive Dow Constantine, areas in the Sammamish Valley that are unincorporated and designated in the county’s Agricultural Protected District (see map), will remain protected and will not be annexed by the city.

The annexation of land designated as rural (a rural designation under the King County Comprehensive Plan does not mean the land is pristine farmland, the 17-parcels in Woodinville were grandfathered into the Comprehensive Plan back in the early 1990s) into the city has become a controversial issue. The landowners seeking annexation claim their properties are already developed and therefore belong in the city to obtain an urban designation, allowing further development of the property. Opponents claim if these parcels are allowed to annex, it will set a precedent that will open the gates for development all though the Sammamish Valley.

The King County Council is expected to decide on the plan in September 2012. Chan's request for annexation is not part of that decision.