Eastgate, Tamara Hills Property Owners Collect Support for Annexation

Eastgate and Tamara Hills, neighborhoods in unincorporated King County in the middle of Bellevue, have collected enough signatures to launch a campaign to get the required support for annexation into the surrounding city.

Property owners representing 10 percent of the assessed valuation of those two neighborhoods have supported annexation into Bellevue, according to Nicholas Martz, senior planner with the city of Bellevue.

Before the city can annex Eastgate and Tamara Hills, state law requires that property owners that own 50 percent of the area's assessed valuation sign off on the annexation.

An open house regarding the South Bellevue annexation will be Thursday, June 30, 6 to 8:30 p.m., at the , which will launch the campaign to collect the rest of the required signatures, said Matz and Dan Stroh,  acting director of the city's planning and community development department.

Signatures are being collected for other South Bellevue neighborhoods, combined in one group as Hilltop/Horizon View, but property owners asked the city to adopt residential zoning that reflects the existing density in the area, city staff said. Those neighborhoods are expected to come to the city later this year to start the annexation process. City council members unanimously approved that change Monday night.

Eastgate and Tamara Hills are surrounded by Bellevue, but are served by King County. While Bellevue police respond to emergency calls, non-emergency law enforcement, such as thefts, is by the King County Sheriff's Office and the area's fire district pays the Bellevue Fire Department to cover fire and medical emergencies.

Tax rates for homeowners in those neighborhoods would go down if they annex into Bellevue, according to the city. King County residents in Eastgate and Tamara Hills pay between $10.75 and $12.87 per $1,000 of assessed value a year -- or between $4,300 and $5,148 for a $400,000 home. The Bellevue tax rates for those neighborhoods would be between $8.70 and $10.82 per $1,000 of assessed value a year -- or between $3,480 and $4,328 a year for a $400,000 home, according to city figures.

There would be a $1.1 million deficit between the cost of services provided to Eastgate, Tamara and Hilltop/Horizon View neighborhoods and the tax revenue they would bring in, but state law says that the state sales tax would be given to the city to cover that difference, so that would not result in a tax increase for Bellevue residents or the neighborhood residents, according to the city.

Eastgate and Tamara Hills have a combined population of just over 5,100, which would increase Bellevue's population by about 4.2 percent, according to U.S. Census figures.