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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-11-13 Special MinutesNovember 13, 1974 TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL 7:30 P.M. SPECIAL MEETING CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS DISCUSSION Proposed Duwamish- Allentown Annexation M I N U T E S 9O?:? Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers Council President Traynor called the Special Meeting of the City Council to order. GARDNER, STERLING, TRAYNOR, DAVIS, HARRIS, JOHANSON Each Council Member received a copy of a letter dated November 13, 1974 written by Mayor Todd representing the petitioners for annexation of Fire District No. 1 to the City of Tukwila with comments regarding some of the exhibits, oral comments and position reports presently on record and in the hands of members of the King County Boundary Review Board; the letter was ad- dressed to the members of the Board. Councilwoman Davis read the letter for the benefit of those in the audience and for the record. Council President Traynor commented he felt the letter was very good and express- ed the opinion that it was good for the Council to know the stand that Administration had taken and that it coincided with his thoughts as a Council Member. Mayor Todd from the audience stated that the letter had been formulated from an Administrative point of view, expressing the opinion of Administration and not of the Council. Councilman Sterling stated he felt all of the facts were well stated and that it was very important not to split Fire District No. 1. Councilwoman Harris asked if Fire District No. 1 could be cut off. Mayor Todd replied that if the B.R.B. divided the District and the annexation included less than 60% of the assessed valuation of the District, the District would remain intact and the taxpayers in the existing District would continue to support the District by special levy. Mayor Todd stated there are advantages both ways if the area is annexed as pro- posed it would be beneficial from a tax standpoint to the City and if it is chopped up there is the possibi- lity of another Andover Industrial -type section there. All is not lost if we lose some of the area proposed. Councilman Johanson stated he did not like the idea of another Andover Park. He liked the country atmos- phere of Tukwila as it is. He felt there was a better distribution of the tax dollar and he did not want a lot of industrial development. Councilman Johanson stated that is why he moved to this area in the first place. Mayor Todd stated that much of the land was vacant land that would be right for industrial use. District No. 1 Fire Chief Severson stated he felt Councilman Johanson was putting the City back 15 years and that it has been a struggle since that time to get it where it is now. Council President asked Council Members if they had seen the proposed annexa- tion area. He stated he felt sure the people there did not want an area like this to grow in their resi- dential areas. He stated the City could give the required protective services and the people would be better off than at present. Councilwoman Harris stated that without the tax revenue base, how can the proposed area get better services, sidewalks, better streets, a library, etc.; how can we make such promises to annex people when we cannot do it for the people of the City of Tukwila. The annexation area comes in un- classified and it will have to be classified. How will we handle the zoning problems. From personal experience, she stated she knew the Boundary Review Board would look at it in an unemotional manner. Fire Chief Crawley stated that the annexation area would be able to have its say about what will happen to them if they are annexed. Councilwoman Harris felt the City does not have enough written policy regarding rezoning and the developers can always appeal. Councilman Jo- hanson stated he moved here because he liked small TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING November 13, 1974 Page 2 DISCUSSION Cont. 701 3 community life but if the Golf Course goes industrial the homes on the hill around it will evaporate or deteriorate due to the zoning change. Fire Chief Crawley stated that if we did not favor annexing areas, the City of Tukwila will soon be landlocked. If we annex additional land we can then control areas for industrial use, areas for residential use and areas for apartment dwellings. Councilman Gardner expressed the thought that it would be good to be land- locked, using the City of San Francisco as an example. Councilman Sterling stated residents of that City were also being taxed to death to pay for services they are receiving. He further stated that every Council Member was using the services provided by the indus- trial section of the City of Tukwila, it is necessary to have such services available and it is convenient to have it nearby. Councilman Gardner stated he was proud of Southcenter. Councilman Sterling stated that the Andover industrial area and Southcenter have built up employment for the City and have made it poss- ible for improve the streets, put in some sidewalks, etc. for our residents and caused growth of the City which had not been expected. Councilman Gardner was excused from the meeting at 8:40 P.M. Councilman Sterling again stated he thought Mayor Todd had done a good job on the letter and that it also presented the view of the Council. Council President Traynor stated the Mayor's letter encourages the annexation of the entire package, the people want the entire package in the annexation. He felt the letter was right for the situation. Councilman Johanson stated the last paragraph of the letter was an excep- tionally good statement. Fire Chief Crawley expressed the opinion that the letter shows the City of Tukwila is interested in the people rather than the tax base that would be brought in. Councilwoman Davis stated she did not feel the letter was entirely right, that the City would have a lot of zoning problems that would not be a good balance in future years. Mayor Todd explained that there are 1900 acres at stake; there are 700 acres in developed land, half of which is residential and the rest vacant for possible indus- trial purposes at this time. Council President Tray- nor stated it takes people to make a City and if nec- essary, we should take the people without the northern industrial area and do the best we can for the people. Councilman Johanson stated in that case, the services of the City will deteriorate. Council President Tray- nor felt they would not deteriorate. Fire Chief Severson, District No. 1, stated there is still no guarantee how an election will go when it goes to the people. He felt the Mayor's letter presented a good case and did not give a negative point of view. Councilman Johanson stated he knew that everyone want- ed some kind of control over the development of the City and he hoped the Boundary Review Board understood the City wanted the annexation. Mayor Todd stated that the City is looking now at the same thing they faced a few years ago and if this annexation goes through, it will be even better for the City of Tuk- wila. Fire Chief Crawley stated that the desires of the people with respect to rezoning are usually com- plied with. As an example, he stated that four people stood up and requested denial for rezoning the McMick- en Heights area and the rezone request was denied. Council President Traynor stated that it had been his experience that this was not always the case. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING November 13, 1974 Page 3 903 ADJOURNMENT MOVED BY DAVIS, SECONDED BY TRAYNOR, THAT THE SPECIAL 9:10 P.M. MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL ADJOURN. CARRIED. c26--- Norma Booher, Recording Secretary