UKIAH, CA., 7/28/25 — After several months of government meetings and community discussions about the city of Ukiah’s recent annexation proposal, which has sparked debate among supporters and opponents, the Ukiah City Council has decided to scale back the amount of land it will include in a future proposal.
The city will not submit the plan to the Local Agency Formation Commission this summer and instead will revise it before submitting it at a later date.
In early July, the city of Ukiah and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors met to discuss the annexation proposal under the terms of the master tax sharing agreement. The agreement, signed last summer by the city and the county, outlines how tax revenue is shared when a city annexes unincorporated land, such as Ukiah’s proposal to annex unincorporated areas.
According to a press release sent by the city of Ukiah, they “look forward to continuing to engage with stakeholders to understand their concerns and priorities. The city is developing a process for public engagement that examines potential impacts and benefits in developing alternatives for annexation.”
The Ukiah City Council also stated that they will be removing the previously proposed annexation boundary map from the City’s website.
“The City is committed to pulling back and reevaluating our next steps as we work to identify areas for annexation that position our entire valley to thrive in the long-term,” said Councilmember Mari Rodin. “We recognize the need for deeper discussion about how and where services will be responsibly delivered to the community, which is really what this is all about. We’ll then use the feedback and information we get to develop alternatives for further consideration.”
No Ukiah Annexation, a grassroots group opposing the city’s annexation proposal, said in a Facebook post Sunday that it is glad the city decided to pause the plan.
“We’re encouraged by the City’s decision to pause its annexation plans, a necessary first step in honoring community voices,” the post said. “But a pause is not enough – the City Council must take a formal vote to stop all annexation work and commit to real public input before moving forward with any future plans.”
Supervisor Madeline Cline, a member of the Board of Supervisors ad hoc committee on the county’s role in the annexation process, said she’s glad the city of Ukiah is respecting the community’s feedback.
“I’m glad to hear that the City has listened to the community’s concerns as well at the County’s feedback on the City’s draft proposal,” Cline told The Mendocino Voice in reaction to the news. “It is my hope that robust community engagement will guide future annexation plans and I will continue to advocate for a collaborative process to best meet the needs of the Ukiah Valley.”
For more information on the city’s former annexation plan and recent updates, visit the city’s website.
The full context of what the No Ukiah Annexation group wrote is
“We’re encouraged by the City’s decision to pause its annexation plans, a necessary first step in honoring community voices. But a pause is not enough – the City Council must take a formal vote to stop all annexation work and commit to real public input before moving forward with any future plans. Noukiahannexation.com”