Annexation can become a slippery slope

Wasilla officials have been getting an earful from residents about potential annexation plans. Overwhelmingly, the sentiment is to leave well enough alone.

It’s to be expected. Especially in the Valley, most are leery of bigger government, and annexing more property into a municipality literally makes that government larger. But like eating vegetables or taking out the trash, annexation is a chore city officials need to tackle, no matter how unpleasant.

While the city has been gleaning information about annexing a number of areas north, east, south and west of Wasilla, recent meetings have been held to gather public input.

Rather than take a specific annexation plan with distinct priorities to the public, the city is simply asking “what do you think?” It’s a good question to ask, but too ambiguous. What Wasilla, and Palmer as well for that matter, needs is some specific goals to present to residents that can be achieved through annexation.

For example, as the Valley continues to outpace the state’s growth rate, Wasilla and Palmer have continually been asked by property owners to be annexed into the cities. This has created some “enclaves” within the cities, which are islands of property surrounded by city limits but not within a city’s boundaries. These enclaves can pose potential problems with emergency response and police protection.

Annexation can also be beneficial in smoothing out the city’s boundaries and expanding its footprint for collecting sales tax.

But we cannot forget that annexation is not just about growth and expansion. It’s about individual property owners. Unless there’s an overwhelming and convincing overall public need involved, annexing someone’s property into the city needs to be a mutual decision. The city has in the past required petitions for annexation to be signed by 100 percent of the affected property owners. Now, that 100 percent standard is being tested. What if only 90 percent are in favor? What if it’s 80 percent? At what ratio does the city draw the line for annexing an area?

While it may be frustrating to those who want to be included in the city, we urge Wasilla and Palmer to keep the 100 percent standard as the No. 1 goal. It may not be practical to think every annexation consideration will have 100 percent approval from landowners, but each of those landowners has the same rights as his/her neighbors and deserves individual consideration.