The city of Bonney Lake is looking to get a little bigger by proposing an annexation agreement to the Pierce County Council this fall.

The two areas the city would like to incorporate are the Kelley Creek Vista neighborhood and Delany property, both of which are currently considered a part of unincorporated Pierce County.

Plans have been in the works to annex these two areas since January 2015, because the county wants pockets of unincorporated areas in cities to be annexed.

“We want to get rid of unincorporated islands in the city and create logical boundaries for the city,” said city Senior Planner Jason Sullivan. “We’re not looking at it in terms of cost-benefit analysis.”

RCW 35A.14.460, passed in 2003, allows cities to enter into interlocal agreements with their counties to annex areas that are within the city’s urban growth area and have at least 60 percent of the area’s boundaries adjoining city limits.

Sullivan said that while other counties have already taken advantage of this law, this will be Pierce County’s first time to do this.

“We’re setting up the model for other cities in Pierce County,” he said.

Areas being annexed

The Kelley Creek Vista area is between Fennel Creek and Lake Tapps, and is approximately 93 acres in size. The proposed annexation includes a section of Church Lake Road East, the entirety of 196th Avenue East and half of 82nd Street Court East, plus some undeveloped land.

The Delany area, located along state Route 410 on the far east end of the city, includes the Apex Auto Glass building and the part of 229th Avenue East where the road meets the highway. This area is about an acre and a half large.

Under Pierce County, the Kelley Creek Vista area has Moderate Density Single-Family land-use designation. If the annexation is approved by the county, the pre-annexation land-use designation would change to Single Family Residential.

The city has yet to establish a pre-annexation zoning classification for the area, but the corresponding zoning classification to the pre-annexation land use designation is Single Family Residential: R-1.

“It’s basically the same zoning class,” said Sullivan.

The Delany area is currently designated and zoned as a Community Center area by the county. If the annexation is approved by the county, the designation and zoning would change to be a part of Eastown.

Services, like fire, sewer, water, power and schools will not change in these areas, but property owners in these areas could see some benefits.

According to Sullivan, water and sewer rates for people living within the city limits is approximately 40 percent lower than in unincorporated Pierce County.

Additionally, property taxes may go down slightly, as city residents don’t have to pay a county road tax.

City residents do have to pay a city property tax, Sullivan added, but the property tax is less than the county road tax.

The Pierce County Council and the city will be holding public hearings on the annexation and notices of the hearing and the agreement will be published in the Courier-Herald.