Seattle has joined with King County and Burien by signing an agreement to approach the incorporation of the North Highline Unincorporated Area in a cooperative way.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by Mayor Greg Nickels, County Executive Ron Sims and Burien's interim City Manager, David Cline.

The agreement says the three governments believe it is in their joint interest, and the interest of the public, to work with residents to resolve the annexation issue, which has already been studied by residents and the adjacent cities for nearly a decade.

"Like Seattle itself, North Highline is a collection of dynamic and diverse neighborhoods," Nickels said. "The people who call this area home should have access to the kind of parks, libraries, public safety and other services that will help their communities prosper. I'm pleased the county and Burien are working with Seattle to provide North Highline residents with the information they need to chart the best course for their neighborhoods' future."

Sims said he was committed to finding an annexation solution for North Highline.

"This issue has been studied to death. The residents of the North Highline community deserve to know what their options truly are for joining a city and then we need to let the people vote."

The memorandum establishes a process and schedule leading to a joint recommendation by the officials for potential annexation boundaries by this July, designation of potential annexation areas by the respective city councils in the fall, a vote or other form of citizen approval by November of next year and annexation of the entire area no later than March 2009.

The agreement commits Seattle and Burien to share information, coordinate outreach and create a plan with input from the community that best suits North Highline. Tukwila and SeaTac declined to participate.

"This agreement will allow us to jointly examine how services can be most effectively and efficiently provided to residents in North Highline while continuing to provide quality services to current city residents," said Burien's deputy mayor, Jack Block. "Whether this means one city annexes the entire area or that we find a dividing line that works for the residents, we don't yet know."

In May, the two cities and the county will host four open houses in North Highline to solicit resident input for the July recommendation on potential annexation boundaries. A public forum will then be scheduled in late summer to review this recommendation. The cities of Burien and Seattle will be reaching out to their own residents for feedback on the annexation decision as well.

"Over the past year, the North Highline community has learned from a council-funded study that incorporating North Highline as a stand-alone city would be financially prohibitive, while Burien and Seattle have stepped up and shown their interest in annexing all or part of the area," said County Councilmember Dow Constantine, whose district includes the entire North Highline area. "We must continue to engage the community as we move toward an ultimate solution."

Last week Gov. Christine Gregoire signed legislation that may also contribute to the annexation of North Highline and of urban unincorporated communities throughout King, Pierce and Snohomish counties. As passed by the Legislature, the new law allows cities that annex communities with at least 10,000 residents to receive a larger share of state sales-tax revenue generated within those cities for up to 10 years.

When a community becomes part of a city, local services including roads and parks will be provided by the city. However, the county will continue to provide regional services, such as Metro Transit bus services; criminal justice services, superior courts, juvenile and detention and adult jails; wastewater treatment and solid waste management; public health and human services; licensing, records and elections.

KING COUNTY, BURIEN AND SEATTLE JOIN TOGETHER TO FIND AN ANNEXATION SOLUTION FOR NORTH HIGHLINE, ENCOURAGE GOVERNOR TO SUPPORT ANNEXATION LEGISLATION/PAGE 2

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