The City’s Botched Annexation Plan
Seattle’s attempt to annex surrounding lands hits a legal wall after a drafting error excludes parts of Ballard by mistake.
Corporation Counsel Jacobs is of the opinion that there can be no legal election for the extension of the city boundaries on January 26, as advertised, owing to an inaccuracy in the city ordinance authorizing the election, necessitating a delay until the ordinance can be amended or republished. The ordinance as published provided a legal description of the territory to be annexed. However, an error occurred in the last paragraph, which intended to exclude the incorporated town of Ballard. Since the original plat of Ballard was filed, its boundaries have been extended on the north seven blocks beyond Times Street, the original limit on that side. This invalidates the ordinance, as the current description includes a portion of Ballard that has not petitioned to be annexed. Corporation Counsel Jacobs disclaims any responsibility for the error, stating that the petitioners employed their own lawyer to draft the ordinance, and it was not submitted to him for review.
“Corporation Counsel Jacobs disclaims any responsibility for the error. He states that the petitioners employed their own lawyer to draft the ordinance, and that it was not submitted to him.”
The struggle over municipal boundaries, annexation, and the messy intersection of private developers drafting legislation for public growth remains a defining feature of the Seattle region. Just as in 1891, the legal architecture of city expansion continues to be a point of high-stakes conflict and bureaucratic frustration.
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