Grant County Fire Protection District No. 5 v. City of Moses Lake

In these consolidated cases, affected property owners and fire districts seek review of summary judgment orders denying their challenge to the constitutionality of the “property-owner-petition” method (petition method) of annexation. We hold that the petition method of annexation gives an impermissible privilege to owners of highly valued land, and therefore violates article I, section 12 of the Washington State Constitution.

FACTS

In each case, the city used the petition method to annex property. The primary distinction between the cases is the statute involved. Moses Lake is a “code city”…