Ferndale officials present annexation "deliberate expansion" blueprint to House committee

City of Ferndale officials presented a structured annexation phasing plan — which they call a “deliberate expansion plan” — to the House Local Government Committee, saying the plan aims to close gaps left by the Growth Management Act and to make annexation a predictable capstone to long‑range planning rather than a last‑minute battle.

The plan matters because, presenters said, uncoordinated development in the city’s unincorporated urban growth area (UGA) has produced parcels built on septic systems, cumulative impacts to impaired waters, and regional infrastructure needs that the city and state agencies now must address. "Without an annexation phasing plan or blueprint, it makes the annexation process a lot more difficult than it needs to be," said Jory Burnett, City Administrator, City of Ferndale.

Burnett told the committee that Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) lays out goals for planning and eventual annexation of UGAs but leaves a procedural gap between identifying UGAs and carrying out annexations. That gap, he said, often results in incremental, project‑by‑project county development that…