Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning

Organization of this Chapter

The Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning Chapter is divided into the following sections:

The Introduction describes the intent of the Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning Chapter and its relationship to Redmond’s vision of the future and other chapters of the Comprehensive Plan.

The Planning Context summarizes how this chapter responds to the requirements of the Growth Management Act and the Countywide Planning Policies.

The Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning Policies are divided into the following areas:

A. Impact and Planning Area Policies address the areas that Redmond plans for and the manner in which Redmond, neighboring cities and the county will coordinate development review to ensure that development impacts on nearby communities are minimized.

B. Urban Growth Area Policies identify areas that will be developed primarily for urban uses.

C. Annexation Policies identify the areas Redmond will consider annexing.

D. Potential Annexation Area Criteria Policies provide the basis for determining Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area, which is the unincorporated areas in which Redmond will consider annexations.

E. Growth Phasing Plan Policies address the timing for provision of Redmond services within the Potential Annexation Area.

F. Phasing Plan Criteria Policies provide the basis for developing a Growth Phasing Plan.

G. Annexation Criteria Policies include the requirements that applications to annex specific properties must meet.

(Ord. 1847)

Introduction

edmond’s dramatic growth since the 1950s has been based, in part, on annexation, the legal process of adding land to a city. The policies contained within the Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning Chapter are intended to guide future annexation of properties, to identify unincorporated areas adjacent to the City to which Redmond can provide urban services over the next 10 to 20 years and to identify ways to coordinate plans and public services with neighboring jurisdictions.

These policies work to help achieve Redmond’s future vision of a community of attractive residential, commercial and industrial neighborhoods by annexing within Redmond those areas that are logically part of the City. This helps to maintain a sense of community as well as to provide for nearby rural areas. Redmond citizens value rural areas and want to protect their uses, such as small farms and equestrian activities. Citizens also want to maintain and protect natural processes, such as ground water recharge and fish and wildlife habitat. The policies also help to maintain Redmond’s high quality of life by assuring that areas annexed to Redmond meet City standards for public facilities, services and parks.

For most purposes, Redmond’s boundaries establish the territory in which City services are provided and City policies and ordinances are applied. Map A-1 shows Redmond’s annexation history.

Map A-1

The Annexation and Intergovernmental Planning Chapter closely coordinates with other chapters. For example, this chapter identifies areas that should be annexed to Redmond if the property owners or residents within those areas request annexation. The Land Use Chapter identifies the proposed land uses for the areas to be annexed and Redmond’s Planning Area. The Natural Environment policies describe how important natural resources, both within the city and in areas to be annexed to the city, will be protected.

(Ord. 1847)

Planning Context

he Growth Management Act requires that cities and the county cooperatively determine an Urban Growth Area. This chapter includes the Urban Growth Area for the Redmond vicinity.

The Countywide Planning Policies provide that cities should designate Potential Annexation Areas in cooperation with the county and nearby cities. This chapter contains Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area. The Countywide Planning Policies also require local governments to develop a phasing plan to serve the areas within the Potential Annexation Area. This chapter includes the phasing plan.

(Ord. 1847)

Annexation and Intergovernmen-tal Planning Policies

A. Impact and Planning Area

he City of Redmond works with other jurisdictions to plan for land uses and infrastructure in areas surrounding the City. Redmond is affected by county and adjacent city plans, regulations and development. This chapter describes four different “areas of interest” and how Redmond will work with other jurisdictions to coordinate land use planning and development within those areas. These four areas are: the mapped Impact and Planning Area, the unmapped Impact and Planning Area, the Urban Growth Area, and Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area.

The Impact and Planning Area is the area outside City limits for which the City prepares comprehensive and functional plans, such as community, water or sewer plans. This area is shown on Map A-2, the Potential Annexation Area Map.

Map A-2

This larger context enables the City to relate plans within the City limits to the policies that apply to lands outside the City. Redmond also reviews the plans of other jurisdictions, Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) threshold determinations as well as subdivisions proposed within the Impact and Planning Area, to ensure that these projects will not adversely impact Redmond and will conform to City plans.

The Countywide Planning Policies allow cities and the county to designate Impact Areas in cooperation with other jurisdictions. Within an Impact Area, local governments will notify each other of projects that may affect the other jurisdiction. The following policies guide Redmond’s negotiated Impact Area. This chapter refers to the Impact Area as the Impact and Planning Area in recognition that Redmond also participates in planning for this area.

A-1 King County, adjacent cities and special purpose districts shall notify Redmond of plans being prepared for areas within the Impact and Planning Area. Redmond shall be given the opportunity to review and comment on draft plans.

A-2 When Redmond prepares a plan for an area within the Impact Area of another jurisdiction, Redmond shall notify the jurisdiction of the planning process, invite their participation and give them the opportunity to review and comment on the plan.

A-3 King County, neighboring cities, and special purpose districts shall provide Redmond with all SEPA threshold determinations and environmental impact statements for land use actions proposed in the Impact and Planning Area, notice of all plan amendments and rezones, notice of all preliminary subdivision plats and notice of all commercial and industrial binding site plans. Redmond shall be given the opportunity to review and comment on these documents.

A-4 Where development within the Impact and Planning Area will require Redmond public facilities or services or result in impacts within Redmond that must be mitigated by City of Redmond improvements, Redmond and the agency deciding whether or not to approve the development shall enter into an agreement providing for appropriate services and mitigation. If the development is approved, the approving agency should make the agreed service conditions or mitigation conditions of approval. (Also see policy A-21 for Redmond’s policy on assuming lead agency status for projects within 10-Year Service Area.)

A-5 The Redmond Comprehensive Plan shall identify preferred land uses for the Potential Annexation Area and Impact and Planning Area. The Comprehensive Plan designations for this area shall be coordinated with King County and all affected cities.

Redmond also has worked cooperatively with other jurisdictions on plans and regional issues. For example, Bellevue and Redmond prepared and updated the Bellevue-Redmond Overlake Transportation Study (BROTS). King County and Redmond worked cooperatively on the Northshore Bear Creek Community Plans.

A-6 Redmond and nearby jurisdictions should coordinate and, where appropriate, jointly develop studies, capital improvement programs and projects to address problems that affect more than one jurisdiction.

A-7 Redmond and King County should cooperatively work to prepare and to update King County Community Plans and other planning documents for areas within the Impact and Planning Area.

A-8 Redmond should work with elected and administrative officials of other public agencies to inform them of Redmond’s concerns and policies and to collaborate on problem solving.

Projects outside Redmond’s mapped Impact and Planning Area also have the potential to affect Redmond. This area is defined by the issue and its scope rather than a particular geographic boundary. Areas most likely to fall under this unmapped sphere would include Overlake, nearby areas of Kirkland, Bellevue, Woodinville, the Bear Creek Basin and Lake Sammamish. Redmond should work cooperatively with other jurisdictions to address issues and activities outside the mapped Impact and Planning Area that may affect Redmond.

A-9 Redmond, King County, Bellevue, Bothell, Kirkland, Issaquah, Woodinville, other local governments and Washington State agencies should notify each other of major projects, plans or programs with the potential to affect other jurisdictions. Affected jurisdictions should be given the opportunity to comment on these projects, plans or programs and their SEPA review.

A-10 The Redmond Planning Department and other appropriate City departments shall identify and monitor projects outside the mapped Impact and Planning Area that have the potential to affect Redmond. Redmond shall comment or participate in planning for these projects, plans or programs and in SEPA review.

B. Urban Growth Area

he Growth Management Act requires that counties designate Urban Growth Areas. The Urban Growth Area must include all cities and may include land outside cities “already characterized by urban growth or ... adjacent to territory already characterized by urban growth.” (RCW 36.70A.110.) When added together, the Urban Growth Areas in King County must be large enough to hold the urban residential growth the State of Washington Office of Financial Management projects for the county over the next 20 years.

Urban Growth Areas are intended to achieve several important objectives. Urban Growth Areas identify lands that will be developed for urban uses. This provides certainty to landowners and government agencies, allowing them to plan and invest in urban uses. While some land within the Urban Growth Area is either unsuited for urban development or has important resource values that will be protected, most of the area will be developed for urban uses. Urban Growth Areas make the provision of public facilities and services easier by providing for contiguous and compact urban lands.

Urban Growth Areas also protect rural areas, resource lands and large areas of fish and wildlife habitats. These areas are generally excluded from the Urban Growth Area. Property owners know they can invest in rural and natural resource uses without worrying about the negative impacts of nearby urban development on those uses.

The Urban Growth Area was cooperatively designated by King County and other local governments. Redmond, the other cities in the county and King County developed criteria for the Urban Growth Area. These criteria include:

▀     Lands within cities are included within the Urban Growth Area.

▀     Lands that are characterized by urban development and that can be cost-effectively served by urban services within the next 20 years are included.

▀     The Urban Growth Area should follow natural boundaries and respect topographical features.

▀     Lands within the Urban Growth Area should be sufficiently free of environmental constraints to support urban growth without major environmental impacts. Some areas of environmental constraints may be included when these areas are properly protected and connect urban areas.

▀     Intervening rural areas or urban separators should be considered between cities to allow for the development of distinct communities.

▀     Rural areas and unincorporated agricultural and forestry lands are excluded.

After developing the criteria, the cities and the county designated the Urban Growth Area. In the future, Redmond, the other cities in the county and King County will work cooperatively on the Urban Growth Area issues. Map A-3 indicates the Urban Growth Area.

Map A-3

One of the objectives of the Urban Growth Area is to permanently protect rural areas, resource lands and fish and wildlife habitats. In the future, the Urban Growth Area will not be extended into these areas. To preserve these areas as rural lands, state law prohibits annexation of land outside the Urban Growth Area.

A-11 Redmond shall continue to work cooperatively with King County and the other cities in the county relative to Urban Growth Area issues.

A-12 King County should rezone lands outside the Urban Growth Area to rural densities.

King County’s Bear Creek Community Plan allows for the construction of two urban planned developments (UPDs) on Novelty Hill if certain conditions are met and negative impacts are mitigated. The developments will obtain water and sewer service from Redmond. Redmond’s general policy is to annex the areas it serves with water and sewer. While Redmond has not decided whether to annex the UPDs if they are approved, Redmond should have the option of annexing these areas.

The Bear and Evans Creek valleys have extensive floodplains, wetlands, important salmon habitats and important aquifer recharge areas. This makes the valleys unsuitable for urban development. If Redmond is to annex the UPDs, the Urban Growth Area will have to include some of the Bear Creek Valley to make the Urban Growth Area contiguous to the City. Those portions of the Bear Creek Valley should be maintained for rural uses and protected from intense development. One way of doing this is to designate the areas as urban separators, rural areas that while included in an urban area are designated for rural uses.

A-13 If King County approves urban zoning designations for the Novelty Hill UPDs, King County shall also amend the Urban Growth Area to allow Redmond to annex the UPDs if Redmond chooses to do so. The parts of the Bear Creek Valley included within the Urban Growth Area shall be designated as urban separators or given another appropriate designation that protects their rural character and uses.

C. Annexation

he King County Countywide Planning Policies require cities to designate Potential Annexation Areas in collaboration with King County and adjacent counties and cities and in consultation with the residents and property owners in the affected areas. The Potential Annexation Area Map, Map A-2, shows the area in which Redmond shall consider annexations. The map includes areas characterized by urban development or planned for urban development and adjacent to existing urban areas.

As urban and suburban areas develop, local residents often seek greater local control of land use, capital improvements and other policies through either annexation to an adjoining city or incorporation as a new city. The Growth Management Act provides that cities are the preferred providers of urban services and that urban development is to take place within cities. Therefore, areas developing at densities that require urban services should either annex to cities or become new cities.

A-14 Redmond should annex the property within the Potential Annexation Area when property owners or residents propose annexations that are consistent with the policies of Section G of this chapter. Redmond should actively encourage annexations of properties that are islands within the city, where an area is needed to provide public facilities or extend them efficiently, or where the area will help meet community needs for various uses.

A-15 Repealed by 2058.

A-16 Repealed by 2058.

A-17 Repealed by 2058.

One of the purposes of designating Potential Annexation Areas is to encourage the efficient delivery of public services and public facilities to these areas. Redmond will plan to provide efficiently for urban services within the Urban Growth Area that Redmond has chosen to annex.

A-18 Redmond should be the long-term provider of urban services for those urban areas within Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area.

The Potential Annexation Areas are cooperatively negotiated between the affected cities and the county. Efficient service delivery requires that once Potential Annexation Areas are agreed to, cities should not compete to annex areas within Potential Annexation Areas. Potential annexation areas are already within Redmond’s service area or most closely related to Redmond. Because these areas most closely relate to Redmond, annexing to another city or incorporating as a separate city would be inefficient.

A-19 New cities shall not be incorporated within Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area. No city other than Redmond shall annex property within Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area.

The following policies encourage the development of appropriate and consistent plans and development regulations for the Potential Annexation Area. Consistent plans will reduce uncertainty for property owners and promote the integration of the Potential Annexation Area into the City of Redmond.

A-20 Zoning for Annexed Areas

a. For areas where property owners or residents have expressed a high level of interest in annexing to Redmond, Redmond may undertake a study and adopt pre-annexation zoning for that area. If adopted by the City, pre-annexation zoning shall take effect as the properties annex to Redmond. The study shall include public involvement opportunities for property owners and residents in the study area.

b. When applicants for annexation request that Redmond prepare pre-annexation zoning for a property, Redmond may undertake pre-annexation zoning if funds are available to conduct the necessary studies and if the pre-annexation zoning would be advantageous to the City.

c. For other annexations, the applicant may apply for a particular zone concurrent with the annexation process. The zoning application shall be processed as a regular rezone and the rezone ordnance decided immediately after the City Council approves the annexation.

A-21 Where Redmond will provide public services to an area, Redmond should assume lead agency status for SEPA review for projects within the 10-Year Service Area when necessary to ensure compliance with City plans and standards.

A-22 Annexation proposals and pre-annexation zoning shall be consistent with Redmond’s Comprehensive Plan.

D. Potential Annexation Area Criteria

he following policies guide the designation of, and amendments to, Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area. To annex to a city, state law generally requires that the property within the proposed annexation must be contiguous to the city. In addition, cooperation between cities is important to provide for efficient service delivery and to prevent wasteful duplication of services and public facilities. City boundaries also can help make service delivery more efficient. For example, by including all of a sewage basin or an entire neighborhood, sewage service and police protection can be provided more efficiently. The following policies implement these concepts.

A-23 The Potential Annexation Area shall be contiguous to Redmond.

A-24 The Potential Annexation Area shall not be within another city’s Potential Annexation Area where that city’s area was designated with the consent of the City of Redmond.

A-25 Redmond should consider the impact of including properties within the Potential Annexation Area on the ability of special districts to serve their remaining service areas. If only part of a special district can be included in the Potential Annexation Area of Redmond and other cities, Redmond should work cooperatively with the district to try to provide for cost-effective service to properties outside the Potential Annexation Area.

A-26 Redmond should be able to serve cost-effectively those areas within the Potential Annexation Area with police, fire, water, sewer and other public facilities and services.

A-27 The Potential Annexation Area shall not include areas that cannot be cost-effectively served by Redmond public facilities and services. The cost of providing infrastructure and services generally should be balanced by the revenues to be derived from the Potential Annexation Area over the long term.

Areas designated for urban development (generally commercial uses, industrial uses, and residential uses with a density of one or more housing units per acre) require a full range of urban services, which are most efficiently supplied by cities. For this reason, the Growth Management Act encourages cities to provide urban services. The Growth Management Act also prohibits annexation outside Urban Growth Areas. The following policies implement these considerations.

A-28 The Potential Annexation Area shall be within King County’s adopted Urban Growth Area.

A-29 Areas designated for urban development should be included with the Potential Annexation Area when consistent with Redmond’s ultimate City limits and the other criteria in this Section are met.

A-30 When King County amends the Urban Growth Area, Redmond shall consider whether the urban areas should be added to the Potential Annexation Area and the 10- or 20-Year Service Area.

Topographic boundaries help establish more easily recognizable boundaries that make it easier to provide emergency and utility services and strengthen a community’s sense of identity. Where appropriate, the City boundaries should expand logically to include contiguous land forms to reflect service needs tied to land formations, such as drainage management.

A-31 Topographical changes, such as the base of a hill or the top of a ridge, should be used as future city boundaries, where consistent with the other criteria of this Section.

A-32 The Potential Annexation Area should include Redmond’s major entrance corridors.

Frequently, residents of neighborhoods near cities identify strongly with a particular community. This sense of community should be respected as Redmond annexes. The Potential Annexation Area should preserve the integrity of existing and planned neighborhoods.

A-33 The Potential Annexation Area boundaries should not split neighborhoods. Indicators of neighborhood boundaries include: Post Office mailing address, school district boundaries, access to business and facilities from home, access to arterials and other transportation networks that pass through Redmond, a connection to a Redmond neighborhood, topography, land use, community focal points and neighborhood boundaries.

A-34 The Potential Annexation Area should use easily identified landmarks for boundaries (such as streets, streams and permanent physical features).

E. The Growth Phasing Plan

nce an Urban Growth Area is established, cities are to phase the provision of public facilities and development within the Urban Growth Area so that public services are provided when building takes place. The Countywide Planning Policies require local governments to identify areas where growth will occur during the next 10 and 20 years and will provide necessary urban services. If urban services cannot be provided within 10 years, the city and county must “phase and limit development such that planning, siting, densities and infrastructure decisions will support future urban development when urban services become available.” The city and county also must establish a process for converting land to urban densities and uses when services are available.

The Countywide Planning Policies provide that land within a city’s Potential Annexation Area shall be developed in compliance with the city and county growth phasing plans. Undeveloped lands adjacent to cities should be annexed when “development is proposed to receive a full range of urban services.” If a parcel is not adjacent to the city or annexation is not practical, the development shall comply with an interlocal agreement between the city and the county.

A-35 Interlocal agreements with King County should be established for the development of land within the City’s potential annexation areas. These agreements should address potential land use and zoning, development standards, impact mitigation, and growth phasing.

The City has a phasing plan that includes a 10-Year Service Area and a 20-Year Service Area. The phasing plan consists of the Phasing Plan Map (Map A-4) and the policies in this section.

Map A-4

A-36 By 2004, Redmond should provide a full range of urban services within the parts of the 10-Year Service Area that have annexed to the City.

A-37 The City should adopt a schedule of public improvements for the 10-Year Service Area. This schedule should be consistent with Redmond’s Capital Facilities Plan.

A-38 In 2003, Redmond should begin providing a full range of urban services within the parts of the 20-Year Service Area that have annexed to the City.

A-39 Development in the 20-Year Service Area can occur if adequate public facilities and urban services are provided or planned, the development is in reasonable proximity to already developed areas, and an interlocal agreement between Redmond and King County has been completed. These services include water, public sewer, storm water, transportation, parks and recreation, police and fire protection.

F. Phasing Plan Criteria

evelopment of the Phasing Plan Map was based upon the following policies. These criteria are listed in priority order. The Growth Management Act calls for urban growth first to occur in areas having existing, unused public facility capacity, then in areas served by some urban services. Urban development is to occur in unserved areas last. The following policies implement the priorities of the Growth Management Act.

A-40 Areas served by some urban services should be provided with the full range of urban services before providing services to areas without urban services. Areas in proximity to existing services should be served before areas farther from existing services.

Phasing plans should take into account that certain sizes of public facilities are more efficient or can be constructed more economically than others. For example, in many cases it is most efficient to construct a sewer line at its ultimate capacity rather than a smaller, interim line. Phasing plans should include areas large enough within the 10- and 20-Year Service Areas to take advantage of such efficiencies. They should also be drawn on logical service area boundaries, such as basins, to allow cost-effective phasing.

A-41 Public facility phases should be sized and laid out to allow for the cost-effective provision of public facilities and services.

The Urban Growth Area is to include enough land to hold the needed growth for 20 years. Public facility phasing plans also must provide sufficient capacity for future growth.

A-42 Public facilities should be planned for an area large enough to ensure an adequate supply of urban land for 10 years.

There are limits as to how fast public facilities and services can be provided. These limits can result from technical limitations, available staff and available financial resources.

A-43 Public facility and service phasing plans should consider city and property owner capability to extend services.

G. Annexation Criteria

pplications for annexation must comply with the policies in this section. The Potential Annexation Area and phasing policies guide Redmond’s decisions on annexing land. Areas for which applications will be filed must be within the Potential Annexation Area. The Growth Management Act requires that zoning must be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Therefore, the land must be zoned in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan when it is annexed. The following policies implement these requirements.

A-44 Redmond should consider requests for annexation for properties within the Potential Annexation Area.

A-45 The proposed land uses and zoning shall comply with the comprehensive plan. See policy A-20 for Redmond’s policy on pre-annexation zoning.

While the Potential Annexation Area map will ensure a rational long term boundary for the city, the interim boundaries resulting from individual annexations can affect city service delivery. The following policies set out considerations for specific annexation boundaries to help make interim service delivery more efficient.

A-46 Individual annexation areas should be part of logical, orderly growth for the city and should avoid irregular boundaries. Islands of unincorporated areas and City peninsulas should be avoided. Peninsulas should be allowed only if needed to serve other areas. Lands closest to City boundaries should annex before areas further out.

A-47 Individual annexations should make it possible to assign responsibility for the construction and maintenance of roads and intersections to a single jurisdiction.

As areas annex, steps need to be taken to protect natural resources and the desirable character of the community. This may include identifying open space corridors, protecting critical areas and designating parks.

A-48 Individual annexations should improve environmental quality through identification and protection of open space corridors, preservation of environmentally sensitive areas, dedication and construction of trail and park systems, protection of aquifer recharge areas and maintenance of existing flora and fauna, where appropriate.

Requests for public facility extensions often immediately follow annexation and can be the main reason property owners annex. Annexations should be designed and timed to result in efficient and cost-effective provision of services by the City. State law allows cities to decide for each annexation whether new residents should help pay for bonds currently being paid for by existing residents. Often such bonds fund facilities that already are being used by people outside the City; in other cases, annexation may increase use of these facilities. For this reason, City policy requires that properties annexed to the City should pay their fair share of the City’s bonded indebtedness. Annexations should not result in a negative fiscal impact on the City.

A-49 Funding Public Facilities in Annexed Areas.

a. The property owners should fund the public facility improvements necessary to serve new development. The funding requirements shall be consistent with applicable City of Redmond policies and regulations.

b. If an area annexing to Redmond requires public facility improvements to correct health and safety related problems, the property owners within the annexed area should fund these improvements.

c. If an area annexing to Redmond has public facilities that do not meet City standards and the property owners or residents want to improve the facilities to meet City standards, the property owners should fund those improvements, or the proportion of those improvements, that do not have a citywide benefit. The property owners are not required to improve these facilities, but may choose to do so.

d. Public facility improvements within annexed areas that have a citywide benefit should be considered for funding through City revenues as part of the Redmond capital facilities and improvements planning processes.

A-50 Newly annexed territory should assume its equitable share of the City’s bonded indebtedness.

In general, areas designated for rural and natural resource use are excluded from the Urban Growth Area and, therefore, Redmond’s Potential Annexation Area. Where it is necessary to annex rural areas to serve other urban areas, Redmond shall use appropriate techniques to maintain rural areas in rural uses.

A-51 Redmond shall not annex designated rural areas unless it is necessary to connect urban areas.

A-52 Redmond shall use the following techniques, as appropriate, to preserve rural areas or urban separators: critical areas designations, where applicable; rural and agricultural use protection districts; transfer of density credits; dedication of development rights; conservation easements and contract zoning provisions that run with the land.

Both applicants and the City can achieve efficiencies when annexation applications include multiple properties. Applicants can share the costs of applying. The City can process one combined application more efficiently than several independent requests. While differing circumstances prohibit minimum sizes or minimum numbers of properties within annexation applications, combined applications are encouraged.

A-53 Applicants for annexations are encouraged to apply jointly with other interested property owners or residents to reduce costs for the applicants and enable the City to process annexation applications more efficiently.

(Ord. 2058; Ord. 1847)