A fourth contender may jump into the ring in the seventh round of the North Highline annexation fight.

SeaTac lawmakers voted 4-3 on July 24 to consider annexing the Boulevard Park area as part of the city's comprehensive plan.

Voting to include annexation on the plan's final docket were Deputy Mayor Ralph Shape and councilmen Chris Wythe, Joe Brennan and Don DeHan.

Opposed were Mayor Gene Fisher, Councilman Tony Anderson and Councilwoman Terry Anderson.

The area that SeaTac may seek is much smaller than the entire North Highline unincorporated area that Burien and Seattle are wrangling over. Tukwila has identified South Park as a potential annexation area.

SeaTac's potential annexation area is bounded by Des Moines Memorial Drive South to the Tukwila city limits between South 128th Street and South 116th Street.

The SeaTac Planning Commission had recommended targeting a larger area from State Route 509 to Tukwila between South 128th Street and the Seattle city limits.

A small area around the South Park Bridge, which needs expensive repairs, was not included in the commission's recommendation.

However, Wythe said that attempting to annex the larger area would be "biting off more than we can chew."

DeHan made the seventh-round boxing analogy while asking Planning Director Steve Butler about the legal ramifications of jumping into the annexation debate after Burien and Seattle have been studying it for years.

Butler noted that normally the first city to claim an unincorporated area is given preferential treatment.

However, the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearing Board recently rejected complaints by Burien and Seattle against each other over potential annexation claims on North Highline.

The ruling effectively puts Burien, Seattle and SeaTac on equal footing, according to Butler.

He estimated the cost of studying the fiscal impacts of annexation would be $20,000 to $30,000 and take two or three months.

Lawmakers could decide not to pursue annexation when they take a final vote on the comprehensive plan amendments in November or December.

Wythe admitted annexation is a "complicated subject" but noted, "This is our last opportunity to grow through annexation. We need to consider it seriously."

He added that SeaTac could provide a better level of service than Burien or Seattle and the neighborhood would fit better within SeaTac's city limits.

Shape said Burien and Seattle have pressed on with annexation although their studies have shown negative fiscal impacts.

He reasoned that officials in the two cities must believe that economic possibilities in North Highline mean the area will generate future revenues

Fisher countered that SeaTac would have to build another fire station to serve the area and policing costs would be high.

"I don't understand why we are doing this charade," Fisher declared. "We're pretty sure this won't pan out."

While passing annexation onto the comprehensive plan final docket, lawmakers unanimously killed a proposal to rezone two parcels on South 188th Street.

Planning commission members had recommended that the parcels at 3507 S, 188th Street be rezoned from single family residential to commercial. The lots are next to a planned YMCA facility.

Developers could have placed up to 109 residential units on the property. The current zoning allows a maximum of 21 residences on the 2.45 acres.

City Manager Craig Ward told lawmakers if the proposal was placed on the final docket the city would have to notify residents within 1,000 feet of the property of the proposed change.