What Does Annexation Mean for Lea Hill?

At its January 16, 2007 meeting, the Auburn City Council passed resolutions initiating an annexation election process for Auburn's Potential Annexation Areas (PAAs). The City Council action includes a 4.6 square mile area commonly referred to as Lea Hill, which has been identified as a PAA in Auburn's Comprehensive Plan for more than a decade. In order to assist the residents of the annexation area, the City wants to be available to answer questions and give what information it can. Toward that end the following information is submitted.

On August 21, the voters in the Lea Hill and West Hill areas approved the resolutions to become annexed into the city limits of Auburn. The annexations will become effective January 1, 2008. [View election results]

Annexation of the Lea Hill PAA is being pursued at this time for several reasons, as follows:

Manage Growth

The City has been concerned for years that the rapid growth taking place within the PAAs will overwhelm city streets. Annexation will allow the City to better manage the amount and type of growth in those areas for which it has responsibility, and help ensure that appropriate infrastructure to support development is provided concurrent with that development.

The Auburn City Council envisions retaining the predominantly single-family character of the Lea Hill area. The City's codes will help ensure that the neighborhood character, traffic and environmentally sensitive features are protected and/or managed.

In addition, the Auburn City Council recognizes that the Lea Hill area is underserved by basic commercial services. Identifying opportunities to allow limited commercial development on Lea Hill will be reviewed.

Improved Services/Reduced Costs

If annexed, PAA residents should see improved levels of service at nearly equivalent costs to what was seen when they were provided by King County. Residents should also experience easier access to government.

Improved Police and Fire Service

Upon annexation, citizens should see improved police protection. The King County Sheriff's Office is currently responsible for police services in Lea Hill, which is part of a large area that extends east to the Kent-Black Diamond Road and south to the Green Valley Road. This area is currently staffed with one County deputy per shift.

Response times to this area are becoming longer. In the second half of 2006, an emergency response time comparison to the Lea Hill area showed 7.93 minutes by the King County Sheriff and 2.95 minutes for Auburn Police for all their service areas and for routine dispatch, 70.47 minutes and 21.06 minutes respectively, according to County and Auburn Police Department records.

Fire and emergency medical services to the Lea Hill PAA are currently provided by Fire District 44 and, to a lesser extent, Fire District 37.

If annexed, the area would be served by the recently formed Valley Regional Fire Authority (VRFA), which joined existing resources to provide fire services to the communities of Algona, Auburn and Pacific. Fire and emergency response times should remain consistent with current service levels.

Street Maintenance

If annexed, Auburn's Public Works Department will be responsible for maintaining streets in the PAA. The City would work with the neighborhoods to put together a long range plan for street maintenance and improvements.

Auburn's local street pavement preservation program called Save Our Streets (SOS) was created in 2004 through a property tax levy to preserve and improve the pavement of the local street system by funding yearly pavement preservation and improvement projects through the year 2010.

The SOS Program has improved the condition of many of the city's local residential streets. Newly annexed areas will be included in the remaining years of this program.

Auburn's Public Works Department is also responsible for weather related city street maintenance such as plowing snow and sanding streets. If annexed, streets will be added to the City's weather related street maintenance prioritization system.

The City also offers a Pothole Patrol hotline. Any resident can phone the hotline with the location of a pothole and City crews will repair it within two business days.

County Challenges in Supporting Urban Service Level

Because of ever decreasing pockets of unincorporated areas in the King County urban areas, the County is having a harder time preserving service levels to unincorporated urban communities. In the last four years, the County has cut over $100 million from its budget and expects to continue to cut programs every year for the foreseeable future in order to balance its budget. Among the recent County cuts have been elimination of recreational programming in parks and community centers, and elimination of most new road capacity projects.

Supported by Government Mandates

Annexation of the PAAs is supported by State, County and City policies. The City's Comprehensive Plan has included the West Hill neighborhood as a PAA for over a decade. The State Growth Management Act (GMA), passed in 1990, requires the cities to identify annexation areas.

The King County Countywide Planning Policies developed and approved by cities and King County as required by the GMA set forth a long-term vision that by 2012 all urban areas of King County should be part of cities - preferring annexation over incorporation

More Information

Information on the Lea Hill Annexation can be found elsewhere on this site, by calling the City of Auburn Annexation Hotline at 253-876-1997 or via email at annexation@auburnwa.gov. Citizens are also encouraged to contact their King County Councilmember at 206-296-1007 for more information.

Citizens Committee

An Ad Hoc Citizens Advisory Committee composed of residents living within the PAAs has been established to advise the City about annexation related issues.

What Changes? What Doesn't?

How Will My Tax Rates Change?

It is estimated that an average homeowner would pay about the same amount of taxes and fees as an Auburn resident than under unincorporated King County, depending on the assessed value of their property and their utility usage. The table below compares annual 2006 taxes in King County compared to Auburn for an average home with an assessed value of $255,000.

View map of Levy Code Areas

Residential Impact of Annexation
Auburn vs. Unincorporated King County
Based on a house with an assessed value of $255,000 in 2006

Actual utility taxes and fees may be more or less depending on utility use. The figures shown are based on the following average monthly utility bills:

• $173 - electricity and gas
• $75 - telephone and cellular phone
• $47 - cable TV

Residents serviced by the City of Auburn sewer will have an annual decrease in their sewer utility bill of $60 and another approximate deduction of $144 annually on their water bill.

The City charges a 50% surcharge on water and sewer service to non-city residents. Upon annexation, the surcharge will no longer be applied.