LAKE STEVENS – No annexation. Don’t sell. Don’t sign. Don’t vote yes.
That’s the message one family is sending neighbors in the Eastlake area, the latest community Lake Stevens officials hope to annex into the city limits.
David and Deborah Rochon have organized opposition to annexation in the area. At the same time, volunteers have gone door to door asking people to sign the city’s annexation petition.
“Whether people want to annex or not, I want to get information out to them so they can make a good choice,” Deborah Rochon said.
But city officials said annexation opponents are misinformed and they aren’t convincing people not to sign.
“It hasn’t substantially changed the ‘no’ rate,” city annexation coordinator Carl Nelson said.
Instead, volunteers are spending more time talking to people as they knock on doors.
“Most of (the time) is correcting the misinformation,” Nelson said.
Lake Stevens is trying to create one community around the lake. In January, they annexed 855 acres at the north end. In December, they are expected to annex 708 acres in the Frontier Village area on the west side of the lake.
Now, annexation drives are taking place in the Soper Hill and Eastlake areas.
Soper Hill would add 292 acres to the city; Eastlake about 438 acres and 500 property owners.
This is the first organized opposition to the city’s “One Community Around the Lake” effort, Nelson said.
People who have voiced opposition to the annexation represent about 18 percent of the property owners in the area, Nelson said.
Even if all of them don’t sign, the annexation still could occur, he said. That’s because the annexation is tied to property ownership. State law allows annexation if it is supported by the owners of property with 60 percent of the area’s assessed value.
Deborah Rochon said she believes the Eastlake annexation is premature.
She’s worried development might change the rural character of her street and that the city is not prepared to take on more areas.
Not so, Nelson said. The city is working on a carefully developed plan. City planners will maintain the look and feel of the neighborhoods, he said.
Nelson and city finance director Jan Berg invited the Rochons to meet with them to discuss their concerns.
Deborah Rochon said she’s not interested.
“I felt the simpler I kept it the better,” she said.
City officials have scheduled an open house tonight to discuss the Eastlake annexation.
Despite her concerns, Rochon said she knows the annexation is likely to move forward.
“It’s about as inevitable as praying for rain in the Northwest,” she said.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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