The Spokane City Council has passed a resolution confirming its intent to annex 15 acres near the Hillyard area where an 83-lot manufactured-home park is being developed.

The property is located a quarter-mile south of Francis Avenue on the east side of Havana Street, and includes Greenfield Estates and Greenfield Estates First Addition, which make up the park.

Residents of that planned-unit residential development first sought to be annexed by the city about a year ago, and filed a petition for annexation in October. The matter was held up, however, because the petition included some errors and couldn't be certified by the Spokane County Assessor's Office because a sufficient number of the signatures on it couldn't be verified, says John Mercer, manager of capital programs in the city's public works department. Such petitions expire after six months, but residents submitted a new annexation petition in March, which was certified by the assessor's office, Mercer says.

The primary reason residents would like to be included in the city is that they would receive lower rates for water and sewer services, which they already are receiving from the city but at a higher rate than city residents pay, as well as city fire and police protection, Mercer says. The residents, however, still would be responsible for maintaining the private roads in the developments, he says.

The city now will file a notice of intention to annex with the Boundary Review Board, which then will give other jurisdictions 45 days in which to request a hearing on the matter, Mercer says. Provided no other jurisdiction requests a hearing, the city would hold a hearing on the annexation request, Mercer says.

Greenfield Estates was established about seven years ago by a co-owner of Greenfield Homes, a Spokane manufactured-home dealership, Mercer says.