During testimony at City Hall, people from White Center and Boulevard Park appealed to the Seattle City Council to cast the Seattle city limits farther south to include unincorporated North Highline.

Once a year, the City Council opens up the Seattle Comprehensive Plan for possible changes and updates. Council members vote to add or reject amendments to the citywide planning document.

Thirteen amendments to the Comprehensive Plan were on the table for discussion at the April 12 meeting of the council's Urban Development and Planning Committee.

One of the amendments recommends Seattle declare North Highline a "potential annexation area." That would trigger a period of study for Seattle city planners to compare the pros and cons of annexing White Center and Boulevard Park. Burien city officials must decide whether to make the same declaration. Declaring a potential annexation area does not obligate a city to annex the study area.

The main topic during public testimony at the April 12 meeting was the annexation of North Highline. More than 50 people testified and most of the speakers urged the city of Seattle to annex White Center and Boulevard Park.

After several people in a row stepped to the microphone to urge the annexation of North Highline, Committee Chairman Peter Steinbrueck said the City Council won't soon be deciding anything about annexation. Councilmen Richard Conlin and Tom Rasmussen also were at the hearing.

Members of the Seattle Planning Commission spoke at the public hearing in support of Seattle designating North Highline a potential annexation area. They were followed by about 20 other people who spoke in favor of stretching the Seattle city limits to include White Center and Boulevard Park.

"Roxbury (Street) is this artificial line that keeps us separate," said the Rev. Mabel Faulalla, assistant pastor at the White Center Samoan Assembly of God. "We look forward to being with Seattle."

"We don't want Burien annexation," said Karen Veloria, a member of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council. She pointed out that many households and businesses in North Highline get electricity and water from Seattle. "We're already a part of you."

"I'm proud of this community, which is sometimes misunderstood and sometimes maligned," said Peggy Weiss, who's suspending her annual management of the White Center Garden Tour this year to focus her energies on the annexation issue. She told the City Council North Highline needs "resources, guidance and help."

White Center is "on the cusp of gentrification," said Ralph Pullman. "The community's (ethnic) diversity could be gone in five to 10 years."

For Ted Radford, it comes down to pavement quality and urbanity.

"Seattle has concrete streets," he said. "I bet there's not a concrete street in White Center."

Joining Seattle would make North Highline more cosmopolitan, Radford added.

Marlene Allbright told council members many of the septic systems in North Highline are failing. She thinks Seattle would be more responsive to sewer problems if the area was annexed.

Resident Greg McCorkle even brought a couple of boxed dinners to the council members from White Center restaurants.

"A lot of us here want you to do it yesterday," said Stephanie Dotson, referring to Seattle's possible annexation of North Highline.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or tstclair@robinsonnews.com