PENINSULA — Should Long Beach annex Seaview?

The City of Long Beach and Seaview residents are trying to decide whether annexation should happen.

“We’re at the stage of letting the idea fester,” said Long Beach City Administrator David Glasson. “Neither side is pushing it forward.”

Pull Quote

‘We’re at the stage of letting the idea fester. Neither side is pushing it forward.’

Long Beach City Administrator David Glasson

The Seaview Historical Preservation Society (SHiPS) will host a community meeting on the issue at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 29. The meeting will be held at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum, 115 Lake Street SE.

The meeting is intended for Seaview residents to discuss the issue with various officials, said SHiPS President Nansen Malin.

“I want everybody to have a voice and then we make a group decision,” Malin said.

Why not?

After realizing Seaview isn’t included with Long Beach’s growth management plan, Glasson looked into the possibility of Long Beach annexing Seaview.

“I thought, ‘Why not? We’re the same people,’” Glasson said.

The annexation discussion won’t be the first the two towns have had. Long Beach and Seaview last publicly considered annexation in 2006.

“For the last 10 years, this keeps coming up,” Malin said.

Seaview residents have historically turned down being annexed, Malin said.

“Maybe the answer is Seaview wants to stay unincorporated and that’s fine,” Glasson said.

Pros and cons

Annexation has both pros and cons to residents of each town. If Seaview were annexed by Long Beach, the two towns and the county would need to make decisions on what services are and aren’t changed.

Since Seaview is an unincorporated town, most of its services come from county government. Possible changes would likely include utilities, taxes, law enforcement, emergency services, government access and involvement, zoning, and development.

Annexing Seaview isn’t an issue Long Beach would initiate, Glasson said. However, the city would need to make a decision on annexation within 90 days if a resident wrote to the city requesting a decision, he said.

Annexation could happen via petition by property valuation, petition by registered voter or an interlocal agreement.

“Are we there right now?” Malin said. “I think there’s some hurdles to overcome.”

Informal meetings

Glasson wants to hold informal meetings with citizens of both towns.

“Every time there’s change, people are worried,” Glasson said. “If we have that discussion, it’ll take care of some of these issues.”

Questions about the meeting and annexation can be directed to Malin at 360-642-2444 and seaviewhistorical@gmail.com, and Glasson at administrator@longbeachwa.gov and 360-642-4421.

The Chinook Observer will continue reporting on this issue as more information becomes available.