The annexation of close to 390 acres northeast of the city of Mill Creek took a giant step forward Tuesday night.

The City Council, by a 5-2 margin, approved sending along an annexation petition by property owners in the affected area to Snohomish County’s Boundary Review Board.

Mayor Terry Ryan, Mayor pro-tem Donna Michelson, and Council members Mary Kay Voss, John Hudgins and Mark Bond all voted in favor of a slightly revised annexation boundary. Dale Hensley and John “Jack” Start opposed the move because they favored annexing the entire original proposal.

Residents of a 19.75-acre neighborhood on the area’s eastern flank, however, said they opposed being annexed because, some residents said, they didn’t receive proper notification of an annexation informational hearing. Council went along with that sentiment and opted to leave the area, which includes 47th Avenue SE and 132nd Place SE, out of the annexation.

“It seems the majority of that neighborhood doesn’t want to be in the city,” Ryan said after moving to accept a staff proposal that would take the neighborhood out of the annexation.

That move disappointed Bill Coleman, a resident of 47th Avenue, who lobbied the City Council last week to keep his neighborhood in the annexation.

“I don’t think my neighbors understood everything,” Coleman said after the meeting. “I’m gonna see if I can get my neighbors the (proper) information. I think Mill Creek can take better care of us than the county, we’d have better police presence.”

Before the final vote, Hensley moved to alter the annexation boundaries to not add any areas east of 35th Avenue SE.

“My problem with going across 35th is Wal-Mart,” Hensley said about a proposed 149,000 square-foot store on 132nd Street SE. “I understand this won’t stop permitting with the county, but personally, I have no interest in having Wal-Mart in the city of Mill Creek. They have poor labor relations, they’re a poor corporate citizen. I don’t think us having stricter design guidelines … will change that corporation.”

His motion was seconded by Start, but the motion was defeated when it failed to get a majority in favor of it. Start, Hensley and Voss supported the amendment. Ryan, Michelson, Bond and Hudgins opposed it.

“I think it’s foolish for us not to take the one-time income,” Hudgins said about development fees and mitigation from the proposed Wal-Mart, a proposed Home Depot store and several other undeveloped parcels east of 35th.

“I was scared to death we were going to get cut out,” said Rob Carlile, a resident of 137th Place SE, a neighborhood that would have been deleted from the annexation had Hensley’s amendment succeeded. Carlile had circulated the annexation petition in his neighborhood. “All these people were all for it because of the police protection.”

Despite the Council approval, the annexation is hardly certain to happen. Residents of the affected area fear Snohomish County Fire District 1, which serves the area, may challenge the annexation with the Boundary Review Board, and residents may attend a District 1 board of commissioners meeting to lobby the district not to block the annexation.

If the annexation goes through, fire service for the area would transfer from District 1 to District 7 because the city of Mill Creek contracts with District 7 for fire protection and emergency medical services.

The Boundary Review Board will initiate a 45-day review period of the annexation, and it could change the boundaries if it deems proper. It also could call for a public hearing on the annexation if a public agency opposes the annexation.