1000 Friends of Oregon's Position on Voting on City Annexations

Adopted by 1000 Friends of Oregon Board of Directors
July 8, 1996

1000 Friends of Oregon is much more concerned with the outcome of planning decisions than with the methods by which these decisions are made, (although some planning procedures improve the quality of decisions). Our emphasis on outcome over process is reflected in the following position statement on referring annexations to cities to local voters for their approval or rejection at the ballot box.

1. Setting the UGB is, and should be, the determining factor defining the limits of urban growth (for that period), not annexations to cities or limits on the extension of city services.

2. In general, cities, not counties or special districts, are the most appropriate providers of urban infrastructure and services, including streets, sewers, water, lighting, stormwater disposal, parks and emergency services.

3. City annexations are a logical basis for the phasing of growth within an UGB. Phasing and conditioning the extension of services are undertaken to assure; (a) efficiencies in the extension of services; and (b) that the pattern of development achieves the objectives of the statewide goals and local plans.

4. Voting on annexations is inappropriate if it is used primarily as a tool to block urban population growth, because it can be used as a means of creating economically and socially segregated communities and will force population growth onto other communities which may be less able to accommodate the growth. However, a coordinated regional approach to the allocation of population growth may be developed which allows communities to reallocate growth among themselves in a way which is better for those communities and the region, while fulfilling state policies on housing affordability transportation, economic opportunity and the protection of farm and forest lands and natural resources.

5. We believe the best avenue to address questions about urban design, the costs of services, and the nature of a community is through periodic review. To achieve this result periodic review needs to be carried out as part of a broad public dialogue, not a narrow technical exercise carried out only in order to comply with state requirements. Other approaches to addressing communities concerns about growth could be designed and made a part of the local planning process.

6. When local governments have failed to provide adequate opportunities for citizens to engage in a wide-ranging discussion about the character and cost of growth in their communities, annexation votes can be useful in providing citizens with a valuable opportunity to discuss fundamental issues relating to the allocation of the cost of services and the nature of urban development.