Annexing Fairwood to the City of Renton passed a major test Tuesday night with the unanimous approval of the annexation by state Boundary Review Board for King County
The approval came after a presentation by the City of Renton and testimony from other governments and the public. The crowd didn’t quite fill the chairs set up at the Fairwood Community United Methodist Church for the hearing.
The citizen comments were strongly in favor of annexation. This is in contrast to earlier review-board hearings on whether to form a city of Fairwood that drew heated testimony pro and con toward cityhood.
One speaker asked that Fairwood have its own designated seat on the City Council. But that would require a change in city governance; council members hold at-large positions, meaning they don’t represent a specific geographic area of the city.
The board now will meet April 8 in Bellevue to vote on a formal decision. Public testimony won’t be taken.
The board twice has issued its opinion whether a City of Fairwood could make it financially. In the failed 2009 election, the board decided it could pay its bills.
Now Fairwood will get another chance – Nov. 2 – to vote on its future.
“That is the best form of government,” said board member Evangeline Anderson.
Fairwood, one of Renton’s potential annexation areas, will vote whether to annex its 6.2 square miles and roughly 27,700 people to Renton.
Alex Pietsch, the administrator of Renton’s Department of Community and Economic Development, and Marty Wine, the city’s assistant chief administrative officer, made the annexation presentation for city.
The Boundary Review Board judges an annexation on criteria spelled out in state law, including services, economics and land characteristics. Pietsch told board members the annexation met those criteria, as well as the city’s.
Fairwood as part of Renton would be less dense under the city’s land-regulations than it would if it remains under county regulations, Pietsch said.
The City of Renton will provide Fairwood with most of its basic services, at a tax level, Wine said, is slightly lower than what residents pay now, based on a 2007 study.
Water and sewer will still come from current providers and school district boundaries won’t change. The King County Library System will continue to provide services at the Fairwood Library, under the recent annexation of Renton to KCLS.
Fairwood resident Russell Radke told the board he’s looking forward to receiving urban services from Renton and he believes that city services will improve his neighborhood.
The decision wasn’t clear-cut because the board had to deal with two issues – what to do with Soos Creek Park and Fire District 37 in the annexation area’s south end.
The original annexation proposal didn’t include part of the thin Soos Creek Park that runs from Renton south through east Kent along Soos Creek. King County expressed concern that omitting the park would create an urban unincorporated island.
The board opted to include the park north of Southeast 208th Street in the annexation area, subject to approval by other government agencies to move it from Kent’s potential annexation area to Renton’s. The park south of 208th Street is in Kent’s PAA.
The PAA change was supported by Kent, Renton and King County.
The City of Kent provides fire services to Fire District 37, which learned relatively late that the Fairwood annexation was moving forward. The fire district stands to lose about $373,000 in revenue if a small area of the district annexes to Renton.
“Don’t hold Fairwood citizens hostage to Fire District 37’s negotiation demands,” Fairwood resident Bill Taylor told the board. At least one other speaker urged that the review board not allow a fire district controversy to thwart the annexation.
However, Renton and Kent have met once and will meet again soon to work on an interlocal agreement in which Renton would contract with Fire District 37 for fire services for that part of the district in Renton.
Fire District 37’s Station 77 is just outside the annexation area, on Southeast 208th Street. The nearest Renton/Fire District 40 fire station is Station 17 on Petrovitsky Road in Fairwood.
Kent Fire Capt. Larry Rabel told the board relying on Station 17 for fire and medic service would increase response times to the southern part of the annexation area.
Board members expressed satisfaction that Kent and Renton could reach an agreement and did not specifically address the matter in their preliminary decision.
A tax
comparison
Fairwood residents can use an online calculator on the City of Renton Web site to determine how their taxes today will stack up against those in Renton if they choose to annex.
