An interlocal agreement (ILA) is now in place between the City of Yelm and Thurston County to work together on Yelm’s plan to annex some properties in unincorporated Thurston County.
The City of Yelm intends to annex a total of 312 parcels across eight zones, roughly 1,228.42 acres total, of its urban growth area to increase the city’s future housing capacity and fix the city’s irregular boundaries.
The Thurston County Board of County Commissioners voted Dec. 16 to approve the ILA on its end, following unanimous approval by the Yelm City Council on Dec. 9.
The ILA does not approve the annexation itself. Rather, it allows Thurston County to be part of the annexation process.
“It’s not a pre-annexation agreement,” said City of Yelm Planning and Building Manager Gary Cooper, explaining that the ILA determines what responsibilities the City of Yelm and Thurston County each have if the city does decide to annex.
“The ILA really presents an opportunity for the county and city staff to engage in discussions to make sure the best interests of the county, as well as the city, are reflected,” Cooper said.
While Thurston County does not have the authority to make decisions related to the annexation itself, several county residents that would be impacted by the annexation spoke out against it at a county public hearing on Dec. 16.
Those who gave public comment all lived in Zone 8 of the City of Yelm’s annexation proposal map, which includes the George Road area, and asked that the annexation boundary be revised to exclude their zone.
“I’m wondering if there’s not some way that this interlocal agreement can’t do each area one at a time, instead of trying to lump all eight sections into one,” a resident said.
Several county commissioners asked questions about their authority to influence the boundaries of the annexation, but were told that because the City of Yelm initiated the process, the City of Yelm holds the final decision-making power.
The ILA does give the county the ability to work with the City of Yelm on those decisions, however.
“The ILA process is important because then we, from the onset, get into partnership, frame that conversation and frame what that handover looks like, so that our interests are considered,” said Thurston County Manager Leonard Hernandez.
“The best interest of the county can be accomplished through the ILA, which is what we’re doing now,” Hernandez said.
The county’s other option is to appeal the annexation as a whole after the City of Yelm approves it.
“We do it together at the front end, or we do it separately at the back end,” Hernandez said.
The Board of County Commissioners chose the front end, unanimously approving the ILA, but encouraged public commenters to take their concerns about the annexation to the Yelm City Council.
“I know that sometimes rural residents are a little less trusting of government, and I get it, and sometimes it feels like if they’re doing anything, it’s just tightening the noose,” said Commissioner Wayne Fournier. “But when it comes to these annexation processes, the county is not in the driver’s seat.”
The City of Yelm held an open house about the annexation process on Dec. 23, which Commissioner Rachel Grant said she planned to attend, and has a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 13.
For more information about the annexation proposal, visit https://www.ci.yelm.wa.us/government/transparency/annexation_in_yelm.php.
