Chehalis council schedules joint public hearing with Lewis County on proposed annexation

The Chehalis City Council voted to publish an interlocal agreement and schedule a joint public hearing with the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners for Monday, Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. to accept public comment on a proposed annexation of unincorporated territory in the city’s urban growth area.

City staff told the council the action before them authorizes notice and a public hearing under state law and does not itself approve annexation. “That’s all it authorizes. It does not, at this time, authorize or guarantee annexation is going to go through,” a city staff member said during the discussion.

The resolution (No. 20-2025) directs staff to publish the interlocal agreement or notice of its availability for four consecutive weeks in the Chronicle and to post materials at City Hall, the Community Development office, and the Chehalis Post Office beginning in mid-September. The city recommended the hearing be held in the Lewis County commissioners’ hearing room to allow joint public comment and input on terms required by state law (RCW 35A.14.472, as cited by staff).

Why this matters: the hearing starts the statutorily required public-participation window for an interlocal-annexation process and begins a sequence of…