By SARAH KEHOE
and RICHARD WALKER
North Kitsap Herald
POULSBO — Poulsbo’s proposed annexation of 69 acres west of Viking Way has been thrown out by a Pierce County Superior Court judge because a signature on the annexation petition was not dated.
State law — Revised Code of Washington 35.21.005 — states regarding petitions for annexation, “Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the name and address of the signer and the date of signing.”
The decision was made June 3 by Pierce County Superior Court Judge Susan K. Serko.
Jan Wold, a retired national forest supervisor who appealed the annexation, said she’s pleased with Serko’s decision but expects a new annexation petition will be circulated. Annexation could clear the way for residential development.
Forty-four percent of affected property owners support annexation, but they own more land than the opponents.
Annexation proponent Arlene Tibbits, 82, said she was blown away when she heard the decision to stop the annexation.
“I’m sitting here, trying to figure out what to do next,” Tibbits said. “I’ve spent a lot of money on this so far and I can’t afford to keep fighting it. This should have been settled years ago.”
Tibbits invested in the annexation process five years ago so she could sell her 10-acre property near Johnson Creek and move nearer to her daughters on the other side of the Puget Sound. She said she can no longer afford the taxes on the property and wants to see the city put it to good use.
“So many people would benefit from the annexation,” Tibbits said. “This would help the city get more money to do what they need for us and there is a school and a church right below the property that could benefit if the city decides to build more houses or something in that area.”
Phone messages were left June 7 and 8 for Mike Chamberlin, an annexation proponent whose signature was reportedly the one lacking a date. Chamberlin’s sister, Molly Lee, opposes the annexation and joined Wold in the appeal. The Suquamish Tribe filed an amicus brief in support of the appeal.
“One of the major reasons we objected to the annexation was because we were not properly notified in appropriate ways that honored our government-to-government relationships,” Suquamish Chairman Leonard Forsman said.
Wold, who lives just outside the city’s Urban Growth Area and next to Johnson Creek, is concerned about the impacts of development on the creek. Wold said development in the Olhava area has resulted in stronger storm flows that have damaged the bank downstream. She said water that flows from stormwater settling ponds is warm, silty and has low oxygen, which harms salmon spawning areas downstream.
Storm surges have eroded the bank, undercutting trees. One tree toppled into power lines, which hit Wold’s house, causing $3,000 damage, she said.
“The creek never handled flows like that,” she said.
Wold is also concerned about the effect of residential development on wells and drainage in the area, the loss of wildlife, and the “loss of the natural beauty of the woods that now surround the community.”
“This annexation includes a large section of the only wildlife corridor in the entire city of Poulsbo,” she said. “The huge proposed housing development would border the edge of the wildlife corridor that research shows is already less wide than needed.”
Tibbits claims the argument put forth by Wold and Lee about preserving wildlife in Johnson Creek is not valid.
“I’ve lived here since 1981 and I’ve never seen anything larger than a frog in that creek,” she said.
Tibbits remembers when a Suquamish Tribe member wanted to plant salmon in Johnson Creek, but was unable to because there wasn’t enough water to sustain fish.
Suquamish Tribe research biologist Paul Dorn said Tibbits’ recollection is inaccurate.
“Definitely there is salmon in Johnson Creek,” Dorn said. “We planted some salmon eggs in the ’80s and mid-’90s and have continued to keep track of them.”
There are several species of salmon in the creek including steelhead and chum.
“The fish in the creek are seeds of the future potentially,” Dorn said. “Now they are natural spawning salmon that are reproducing.”
The Poulsbo City Council met with the proponents of the annexation, called the “Tibbets/Chamberlin Annexation,” on Dec. 16, 2009 and authorized the circulation of an annexation petition.
The annexation petition was subsequently received and the signatures certified as being sufficient to meet the requirements for a “direct petition annexation” in accordance with state law (RCW 35A.14.120). The city then submitted a notice of intention concerning the annexation to the Washington State Boundary Review Board for Kitsap County. In response to a request from the Boundary Review Board, the City Council approved a resolution favoring the annexation Sept. 15, 2010.
“I call the decision (by Pierce County) a technicality because obviously a great deal of people want to see this move forward,” Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said. “I think it is an unfortunate decision because cities that don’t grow and change struggle terribly. There is a way to create a quality change in a city without compromising what is already great about Poulsbo.”
Erickson said annexation does not necessarily mean buildings and duplexes are going up.
“I haven’t seen any documents about development,” she said. “We are simply transferring the property from the jurisdiction of Kitsap County to the jurisdiction of the City of Poulsbo.”
The Growth Management Act requires cities to plan for growth. City officials projected this year that Poulsbo is likely to have a population of 14,808 people by 2030.
“We have two choices here: take in that proposed population and stay the same physical size, or annex pieces of land so we can grow a little bit,” Erickson said.
According to the city’s 2009 Comprehensive Plan, the majority of Poulsbo residents want neighborhoods with single-family homes.
“We are not trying to be greedy and take a bunch of land,” Erickson said. “We just know we are going to grow and want to do it in a way that reflects the character and heritage of our community.”
