Burien City Manager Mike Martin presented council members with three options for a partial annexation of the North Highline unincorporated area at a special meeting March 31.

Martin also submitted to city lawmakers a no-annexation option.

Council members did not discuss his proposals, which they directed him to draft earlier this year, because Councilwoman Sally Nelson was excused from the meeting. The council has a policy of considering important policy questions only when all members are present.

They are expected to discuss the four options at their April 21 meeting.

Martin will make a similar presentation to the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council at a regular meeting on Thursday, April 3, to get their input.

The largest of Martin's three annexation options could add approximately 11,600 residents to Burien. The other two options would bring some 10,600 or 10,300 additional residents into the city.

A majority of North Highline residents who live in a proposed annexation area must approve the proposal for merging with Burien - or with Seattle, Tukwila or SeaTac - before it would take effect.

"For the past seven years, Burien has been involved in conversations and studies related to the future governance of the North Highline unincorporated area," Martin told council members as he submitted his proposals.

"After numerous financial and service-related studies, after dozens of public meetings and a concentrated outreach campaign, and after many meetings with stakeholders and affected local governments," they now have four annexation options to consider.

In late 2006, Burien designated all of North Highline as a potential annexation area, claiming residential neighborhoods and local retail centers roughly north of South/Southwest 128th Street and south of South/Southwest Roxbury Street, and west of State Route 509 to Puget Sound, to give the city time to evaluate the possible annexation of part or all of it.

Seattle then designated all of North Highline as a potential annexation area in early 2007.

Tukwila earlier had designated an adjacent area in the northeast part of North Highline for annexation, and SeaTac recently designated an adjacent area in the southeast part of North Highline for annexation.

King County Executive Ron Sims has urged the four cities to enter into mediation to resolve the conflicting annexation claims.

Last month, Martin sent a letter on behalf of the city council to Sims and the other three cities renewing Burien's willingness to enter into mediation. As of March 28, Seattle officials had not indicated whether would agree to mediation.

Martin told Burien lawmakers that the three partial annexation options "are drawn to recognize logical physical boundaries as well as considering service delivery needs."

Each option has "at least 10,000 population," which would allow "Burien to receive the State sales tax credit to offset costs for serving the annexed area," he continued.

Maps of the three proposed partial annexation areas together with additional information on these options are on the city's Web site at www.ci.burien.wa.us/commdvlpmnt/Annexation/annexation.htm.

All three options for partial annexation "were formed after several meetings with the City Department Directors, the King County Sheriff's Office and General Managers from the special districts that would serve any areas annexed by Burien: Water District 20, Southwest Suburban Sewer District, Valley View Sewer District, and Fire District 2 [North Highline Fire Department]," Martin noted in his briefing.

Option two, which would add the largest area to the city, includes both upper Shorewood, which he said "has historically expressed desire to be part of Burien," and the Boulevard Park neighborhood.

All three annexation options would bring the Rainier Golf and Country Club into Burien.

Berke & Associates, a consulting firm that last year studied the economic feasibility of an annexation by Burien of the entire North Highline area, submitted to the city on March 24 a discussion draft assessment of the partial annexation options proposed by Martin.

"Overall, Berk & Associates' analysis finds that annexation of any of the three contemplated options would offer the City of Burien opportunities to maintain its current fiscal position," wrote Brett Sheckler, who prepared the study.

"Specifically ... if the areas had been part of Burien prior to 2008, the area would generate $2.8 million to $3.2 million in General Fund revenues, and would generate an additional $700,000 to $800,000 in Road Fund revenues....

In addition to these revenue streams," Sheckler noted, "annexation of any of the contemplated options would allow the City to receive annexation sales tax credit revenues for a 10-year period" to cover financial shortfalls resulting from annexation.

"In 2008, the full 0.1 percent tax credit would generate roughly $660,000 to $670,000."

Sheckler estimated that Burien "would incur additional operating costs of $3 million to $3.1 million for the General Fund, and an additional $460,000 to $480,000 in operating expenses for the Road Fund" if the city exercises any of the three partial annexation options.

Each option targets about one-third of both the land in and population of North Highline.

Sheckler added that "staffing levels for the contemplated annexation ... are also slightly more than one-third of the estimated staffing for the 2007 analysis of annexing the entirety of North Highline."

The next step in considering annexation, according to Martin, "is for the Burien City Council to determine what area, if any, of the [potential annexation area] to invite to join Burien.

"If an annexation is proposed, residents of the area proposed for annexation area would then vote on the annexation, possibly in 2008 or 2009. If approved, the actual annexation would occur shortly thereafter."