PORT ANGELES — City officials will restart plans to annex commercial and residential areas east of the city limit now that the state Supreme Court has reinstated an annexation method it declared unconstitutional in 2002.
But county officials will press for some kind of sharing of property and sales tax revenues from any areas annexed into the city.
“The city always has wanted to annex that area as it grows and develops, and this latest court decision should help us do it,” said City Manager Michael Quinn.
City officials made a concerted effort in 2001 to build support for annexation among residents and property owners in the unincorporated area between DelGuzzi Drive and Morse Creek.
The area centering on U.S. Highway 101 includes several car dealerships, Wal-Mart, Les Schwab Tires and a Safeway shopping complex.
It also includes the Gales Addition, Bay Loop and Mount Pleasant residential neighborhoods.
The effort was put on hold in March 2002 when the state Supreme Court ruled that the state’s petition annexation method was unconstitutional because it created a special class of citizens — those who own large amounts of property.
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The rest of the story appears in the Tuesday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition.