SEQUIM — A 114-acre annexation — an expansion of the city limit that’s the largest in Sequim in several years — gained Planning Commission approval Tuesday and will be on the City Council’s agenda next week.

The commission voted 5-1 to move the annexation forward, with commission member Dick Foster casting the dissenting vote.

The proposal’s critics, who packed the commission’s meeting, complained that the annexation area had been rigged in order to get enough support from property owners and that the city is expanding without paying attention to infrastructure needs.

City staff and commission members responded that issues like traffic and water runoff would be addressed later in the development process, and that the city followed all laws and procedures in pursuing the annexation.

Foster, however, criticized that process, labeling it “dictating to the landowner.”

The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the subject when it meets Monday at 7 p.m. in the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.

Northeast of town

Most of the annexation area is north of Port Williams Road and east of Sequim Avenue.

It includes the Valley View Farms subdivision, property owned by Bill Littlejohn, the Sequim Elks Lodge and the First Baptist Church.

This proposal first surfaced in June of last year when Littlejohn asked the council to annex 60 acres.

Council members asked him to expand the proposal to encompass a much larger area — basically, all the unincorporated area within the urban growth area north of the city and east of Sequim Avenue, as well as unannexed land around West Deytona Street.

The annexation followed what’s known as the “60 percent method,” which requires the assent of owners of at least 60 percent of the assessed value of the affected land.