Good question. I've gone before the OC planning commission as well as the Clackamas County planning commission. They have big plans for our area and approved that plan 2 years ago, though it may still be years before anything really takes place. Unfortunately, we fall inside the Urban Growth Boundary, which is established by the will and whim of Metro. Annexation takes a simple majority vote of the local land owners, followed by a vote by the rest of the citizens. It's about impossible to stop if they really want it.
What we were told about annexation is that any citizen can initiate the process. Say that a neighbor (such as the one behind us, who has already tried this) decides to get their property annexed in order to increase their property value and sell it to developers. They have to get 60% of their neighbors to first agree - so say they have 10 neighbors in the proposed annexation zone - get 6 of them to agree, and it next moves to a vote of the citizens of Oregon City. Meaning, that 6 neighbors effectively forced the hands of 4 of their neighbors. When it comes to private property rights, that's B.S.
As for our rights, I think those get dismissed under the idea of eminent domain - they want it bad enough, they get it, and at a price that THEY set, even if it's not fair market value. Amazing how many folks vote these tyrants into office with no thought about what they do to the average person.
