The proposed annexation of the Ravenhill subdivision, comprised of the 21 homes near the northern boundary of the Plateau Golf and Country Club, was thrown into some doubt at Tuesday night’s study session of the City of Sammamish council.

Prior to a thorough financial analysis of the impact of annexing the small and well-developed neighborhood, city staff expected that there would be little, if any, impact on the city’s resources.

However Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR) officials told the city that annexing Ravenhill would require an alteration of their service boundaries, service that would be subsidized by the city, bringing the net fiscal result of the annexation into the red.

In September, Ravenhill residents submitted a petition representing 10 percent of the assessed valuation of the site, the first step in the annexation process.

The next step is a larger petition, representing 60 percent of the assessed valuation.

The 21 homes are currently serviced by Fire District 10, which covers a region to the east and south-east of the Plateau.

According to City Manager Ben Yazici, residents there currently pay a little more than one dollar per thousand dollars of assessed property value for their fire service.

That compares to the 56 cents per thousand dollars of assessed property value paid by residents of Sammamish.

This is what the residents of Ravenhill would pay, if the city were to annex the subdivision, and the city would have to make up the difference.

The council had indicated that annexation should only proceed if there was no negative financial impact for the city.

Yazici said “in this case the financial impact is inconsistent with the direction council laid out for us.”

Director of Community Development Kamuron Gurol recommended to the council that action on the annexation be deferred until the city could discuss the situation with Eastside Fire and Rescue and consider their options.

Yazici’s suggestion that the council consider the Ravenhill annexation in conjunction with the currently stalled Aldarra/Montaine annexation request, and consider the fiscal impact as a whole, was rejected by a couple of the councilors.

Councilmember Kathy Huckabay rejected the staff recommendation that decisions on the Ravenhill annexation be deferred, saying “I would prefer that we move ahead with the petition as currently constructed.”

“This is a very small impact, and it does have a minor impact, but I feel these are issues that will be resolved in discussions with Eastside Fire and Rescue next year,” she said.

Those discussions will continue next week, when EFR officials meet with city staff and councilors at city hall on Monday night.

With the EFR contract for service in Sammamish placing an increasing burden on city finances, several councilors have indicated in the past that the city must explore other options.