The City of Centralia appears to be the next in line for a large land annexation after Chehalis brought a large portion of its urban growth area (UGA) into city limits earlier this year and as Vader’s annexation process is underway.
The Centralia City Council could initiate a major annexation process as early as next week after tabling the decision during a June 23 council meeting. According to Centralia City Manager Michael Thomas, the issue will once again appear on the agenda for the July 28 council meeting.
The city is faced with a decision on what land to annex into the city limits. A long process initiated in March of last year, including public outreach through open houses, pointed to a phased approach. However, financial incentives from the state that could help the city cover costs associated with annexation could motivate the council to take in more land than originally planned.
“When we talk about adding police officers to these areas in city code enforcement, all of that,” said Councilor Tucker Voetberg, “the apportionment that the state gives us is able to offset that.”
Centralia Community Development Director Emil Pierson presented that phased approach to the Centralia City Council during the June 23 meeting.
According to Pierson, the proposed Phase One annexation would bring an estimated 992 people into the city limits along with more than 1,000 acres of land. That represents less than half of the city’s urban growth area in terms of population.
At the time, Pierson added that annexing the city’s entire UGA would mean a population increase of roughly 3,300 for Centralia. Councilors and staff have not suggested a full UGA annexation similar to the route recently taken by the City of Chehalis.
The largest portion of the Phase One annexation proposal is a section of industrial land to the north of the city limits tucked between Interstate 5 and the railroad to the west. The sliver of territory stretches all the way to the large distribution center owned by Michael’s to the north.
Other sections of the Phase One plan are designed to take in islands of land that haven’t been annexed previously or areas that are dense in population, like those near Centralia High School and an area currently undergoing development near Oakview Elementary School.
According to Thomas, if the city elected to go beyond its Phase One approach and pursue the 2,000-person population increase threshold, it would have to greatly increase the amount of land taken into the city limits.
The largest additional increase would likely cover most of the area surrounding Harrison Avenue to the north of Galvin Road stretching all the way to Goodrich Road.
“It would almost be impossible unless you bring this whole area in at once,” Pierson said during a council discussion last month. “I'm just being straight up and honest with you. If it's not all in one, you're not going to ever reach that threshold of 2,000 people.”
The city has not revealed how much additional revenue it would stand to receive from the state tax break if it met the 2,000-person threshold.
Eligible cities that annex between 2,000 and 10,000 individuals into their city limits can collect a 0.1% sales tax credit from the state. Annexation with a population increase of more than 10,000 makes a city eligible for a 0.2% sales tax credit. The break that was instituted by the state in 2023 is intended to incentivise cities to annex their urban growth areas.
The council may also elect to take in more than the planned Phase One proposal but not pursue the 2,000-resident threshold after a number of landowners requested the city bring them into the city.
During the June 23 meeting, multiple landowners — including the Centralia School District and a group of local real estate developers represented by Levi Althauser — provided public comment to request annexation. The Centralia School District hopes the city will annex Centralia High School, which is already served by city utilities.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Grant made the district's case for annexation about public safety, pointing out that the high school is the only school in the district not in the city limits and relies on the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, while the other schools are served by the Centralia Police Department.
“Right now, the high school is the only school that sits outside of that service,” Grant said. “And while we appreciate the services of the sheriff's office, they are stretched across the county.”
According to Thomas, there is no official deadline for the annexation decision by the council. Last month, many councilors appeared to be on board with annexation, but some — primarily Deputy Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston — expressed concerns about notifying the public of the possible annexation.
Smith Johnston, during the June meeting, pushed the idea of sending mailed notifications to property owners that could be annexed before beginning the process.
“I'm very supportive of annexation for multiple reasons,” Smith Johnston said last month. “I am going to vote against it tonight, because annexation has a serious impact on property owners … I understand there's a long process where they'll be able to have public comment, but I think they should know from the very start what's impacting them.”
According to Thomas, eventual approval of a plan for annexation from the council will kick-start the process. Once approved, city staff will begin negotiating the details of an interlocal agreement with Lewis County staff and bring that agreement back to the council for final approval.
The annexation process through an interlocal agreement also includes requirements for public hearings to be held by both the city and the county or in a single joint meeting. The city will also have to notify taxing districts in the area, such as fire districts, and give the public opportunities to appeal the annexation process.
