Othello considering two annexations
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 2 weeks AGO
A public hearing is scheduled for June 23 for annexation proposals on two pieces of property, one east of Wahitis Elementary, pictured, and one on Bench Road.
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Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 3, 2025 8:17 PM
Key Points:
• Two separate annexation projects will be subject of public hearings held by the city of Othello.
• Bench Road proposal, about 658 acres
• Hampton proposal, about 187 acres
OTHELLO — Othello residents are being invited to give their opinions on two proposals for petitions for annexation of two pieces of property into the city at a public hearing June 23. Anne Henning, community development director, said annexation, if the petitions are approved, would be the start of a different process.
“Annexation would be the first step,” Henning said.
While the public hearings are on the same night, the two properties are separate, and Othello City Council members will consider each property separately.
“They’re separate projects,” Henning said. “They just happen to be on parallel tracks.”
Council members accepted a petition to consider annexation for the Bench Road project in July 2024. The Bench Road proposal is smaller than originally requested, reduced from about 754 acres to about 658 acres.
Henning said once the annexation petition is accepted, if it is, the project can’t be enlarged, although it could be reduced. It extends from State Route 26 along Reynolds Road to Bench Road and along Bench Road behind the Adams County Pet Rescue facility. It doesn’t include ACPR.
The project developers, Skone and Connors Partners, asked for a residential designation for most of the property, with a commercial development designation on the west end. Most of the land is farmed.
The proposal designated as the Hampton property is about 187 acres west of State Route 17 and north of SR 26. It’s behind the Columbia Basin Health Association clinic and Wahitis Elementary School.
Hampton Development is proposing about 93 acres of commercial development along SR 26 and about 80 acres of multi-family housing, with access from East Cemetery Road. Most of the property was farmland, but it’s not in cultivation now.
Whether or not to accept or reject one or both petitions will be up to council members; there’s no timeline for a vote.
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