After calling for annexation of a southern portion of North Highline on May 19, Burien withdrew its proposal on August 28 due to procedural conflicts.

While rules regulating annexation will change this October, Burien is currently unable to move forward in the process because the proposed area for annexation overlaps with the City of Seattle.

Mike Martin, Burien city manager, said he hopes that by withdrawing the previous request the future proposal will be considered for its merit instead of wasting tax dollars by debating the process in which it was presented.

And while the procedural conflict will no longer be a concern once the rules change in October, the city of Seattle still mentioned some concerns it has regarding two fire stations in North Highline during a community meeting on Sept. 2.

According to Kenny Pittman, senior policy analyst for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, if the originally proposed area in North Highline becomes part of Burien, the fire stations could be transferred as assets to the city as well. As a result, parts of North Highline that remain unincorporated could be left without fire and life saving services.

Nonetheless, Pittman says Seattle was very supportive of Burien's decision to postpone annexation.

"We applaud the city for withdrawing their application so that there's more time for all parties to sit down decide what's better for the citizens of North Highline," Pittman said.

But at meetings on Aug. 28 and Sept. 2, when residents of North Highline were able to ask questions about the delay in annexation, it was clear that the community was confused.

While Martin admits that a delay in annexation is not good for residents in North Highline, he assures residents that the city is still working towards annexation.

The boundaries to be annexed in North Highline could change as a result of these debates, depending on how all parties assess the conflict of fire and life saving services. In the original proposal, Burien sought to incorporate an additional 1,705 acres and 14,350 people to its existing population of about 31,500.

The boundaries were determined through numerous public hearings beginning in 2005 and an independent fiscal analysis.

Burien has not attempted to annex all of North Highline to ensure that they would be able to successful meet the needs of both the annexed community members and the existing city of Burien.

Martin claims that North Highline has close historical and community ties to Burien and that the city will be able to provide the neighborhood with services that have been previously unavailable to them.

Furthermore, he says that North Highline could begin to experience the economic development that Burien has seen as well.

Barbara Peters, North Highline Unincorporated Area Council vice president and North Highline fire commissioner, believes that residents of the annexed area would have easier access to their local government.

"It's too difficult to go to downtown Seattle," Peters said. "Burien is a smaller city."

King County and its cities are striving to include all unincorporated areas into a city to provide more efficient services than the county can currently provide.

After Burien re-files for annexation the proposal will need to be approved by King County's Boundary Review Board. Voters in the area of North Highline included in the annexation will then determine whether their neighborhood will then participate in an election that could take place as early as the spring of 2009.

If residents do not approve the annexation then, Pittman says, Seattle will be prepared with a proposal to annex the area into the city of Seattle.