For 31 years, Lynn and Mike Treseler’s mailing address has been Edmonds, even though they aren’t city residents.
Their address wasn’t something they thought much about until the city of Lynnwood last year brought up the idea of annexing their Meadowdale neighborhood, much of which lies within Lynnwood’s urban growth area.
Last month the Treselers, who live off 68th Avenue West next to Lund’s Gulch, asked 48 neighbors in an informal petition whether they consider themselves part of Lynnwood or Edmonds. Thirty-seven said they’d rather be part of Edmonds than Lynnwood and three said they’d prefer to remain within unincorporated Lynnwood.
“I was a little nervous,” said Mike Treseler. “I don’t like people knocking on my door.”
His wife said they passed the petition around their block because they’d heard talk about Lynnwood’s proposed annexation of their neighborhood by 2010.
“We don’t want to cause any hard feelings,” Lynn Treseler said. “I started the petition because I didn’t want to change our address.”
Matt Christensen, a married father of three, said he signed the Treseler’s petition for one reason.
“It’s a property value thing for us,” he said.
Christensen said his house’s property value has a better chance of increasing with an Edmonds address than with a Lynnwood address.
“We bought houses with Edmonds addresses and we don’t want to sell houses with Lynnwood addresses,” he said.
Duane Bowman, Edmonds’ community development director, said his staff is working with Lynnwood on an agreement that would allow the Treselers and their neighbors to opt out of any future Lynnwood annexation.
“Both cities have to agree that it makes sense to be in Edmonds,” he said of the petitioners. “Quite frankly, it could go either way.”
Lynnwood Planning Manager Kevin Garrett said his staff is putting together an agreement between the two cities that will be presented to the City Council at an upcoming meeting.
Once that agreement’s in place, the city of Edmonds would move forward with a formal annexation petition, which under state law must be signed by no fewer than 10 percent of residents owning no less than 10 percent of the property. At least 75 percent of the proposed annexation area’s assessed value has to be represented on the petition for it to move forward with Snohomish County Boundary Review Board and council approval, he said.
“These folks think having an Edmonds address is more valuable than having a Lynnwood address,” said Ted Hikel, Lynnwood City Councilman during the council’s April 7 work session. He said the city should send petitioners “information pieces” detailing the ways in which they’d save money by remaining in Lynnwood.
“I wouldn’t want people to come back later and say ‘we didn’t know,’” Hikel said.
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