City of La Grande prepares to Annex 25 new properties
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – La Grande is growing, or at least hopes to grow. In accordance with city ordinances, the city of La Grande will discuss the annexation of 25 additional properties during the city council meeting at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 3, from its urban growth boundary (UGB) into city limits proper. The properties are split into nine distinct sections from both the north and south sides of the boundary.
According to the City of La Grande, all properties up for annexation had “consent to annex agreements” signed by either current or previous owners. These agreements, in effect, allow pre-annexation of a property. In some cases, the owner of a property within the UGB may want to annex into La Grande but can’t do so without becoming an exclave or forcing other properties around them to annex as well. If this happens, they can sign a consent to annex agreement, providing them with city services but guaranteeing the property will be annexed in the future. As summarized by La Grande Community Development Director Michael Boquist:
“In exchange for receiving City services, the property owner(s) sign an agreement whereby they agree and commit their property to being annexed at such time that annexation is feasible.”
Notably, consent to annex agreements stay with the property and are not dependent on the original owner/signer. Regardless of changes in ownership or time passed, La Grande is within its bounds to annex any property that had a consent agreement signed. Should a property with such an agreement go for sale, the agreement is legally required to be disclosed.
This has possibly caused some contention, though to what extent remains somewhat unknown. One of the property owners involved in the annexation, who requested to remain anonymous, told Elkhorn Media Group the city was attempting to force through annexations despite the property owners in question voting against it. This vote apparently came in the form of a pre-2020 ballot measure. City officials did not mention that any recent complaints or protests had been filed.
For clarification, only the 25 properties with prior consent to annex agreements (highlighted in purple on the maps above) are currently being considered for annexation by La Grande at this time. According to information provided by the city, neighboring properties within the UGB are not currently considered and, as such, their owners were not notified of the current annexation process.
Again, proceedings on the annexation will begin at 6:00 p.m. during this evening’s city council meeting. The full agenda, including legal information on La Grande’s annexation process, can be found at:
Within the packet are also higher resolution images of the maps featured above, which can be found on page 11 of the PDF. Owners unsure if their property is being considered for annexation should consult these maps and check if they received notice from the city.
