The Battle Ground City Council chose to “bravely” pocket a discussion about annexation. Yet again, the council stuck the proposal in their pockets to fight a different day without a real discussion. The council allowed us, the mere citizens, a public hearing, perhaps to gauge our numbers and our ability to organize, knowing that swallowing up the islands of county property within the city is inevitable. After all, the state of Washington has mandated greater density regardless of impact on those already living here so we, the mere citizens, can blame them.
The council’s argument is one of inevitability. Progress must go forward. The council scolded us by saying, yes, you might be upset, your lives interrupted, but you’ll get over it and so will the generations to come. It’s Manifest Destiny.
Their second argument was that, we don’t want anyone in the city who doesn’t want to be here. If you don’t join our club, we don’t want you.
As an aside, the council opined, you non-city people use our city resources, the city roads to get to your non-city homes and eat in our city restaurants — as if the mere citizens don’t add revenue to the city.
This sounds like the very definition of chauvinism.
Their third argument was a petulant one. The city council members were personally offended that we, the mere citizens, don’t want to have our lives changed by annexation. How dare we complain that there were more police calls in the newly annexed Whispering Pines than all of the island areas the city is so eager to annex. They were personally offended that we, the mere citizens, wanted to choose how or when to divide, sell or use our property.
This sounds like the very definition of arrogance.
Dear city officials: you will inevitably get what you want. We will eventually get sick and die, or sell our property to people who will eventually subdivide. You will be waiting to create more islands and to use those islands as an argument for annexation. We will not move north of the river as you suggest. In the meantime, we, the mere citizens, will be waiting with signatures on the petitions to watch the council pocket veto annexation decisions again and again.
