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Soldotna council postpones annexation decision

City of Soldotna

 

Residents on the outskirts of Soldotna wondering if the city is going to move ahead with annexation will have to wait a bit longer.

The council decided to postpone a vote on a resolution that would have directed city staff to begin the process of putting together a formal petition for the state Local Boundary Commission.

 

“The petition is the formal application that we would write to the state standards, addressing all the criteria the state would require a city put in that document when seeking to amend our boundaries," said city manager Stephanie Queen.

 

"We would bring it back to the council at a later date when at least one public hearing would be held as required by the state. The council would have an opportunity at that point to decide whether or not to submit that application to the state. That in itself shifts our process and our planning to the state for the formal review. That takes a year at a minimum.”

Initially, nine areas around the city had been identified as possible targets for annexation. But the council wanted a little more time to further refine that list it may or mar not send off to the state.

 

There seemed to be some interest in studying the more commercial areas, say along K-Beach road, and avoiding more residential areas, from where there has been a lot of pushback over this issue. The resolution will get another look and come back for a vote at the May 9th council meeting.