Prior to Jan. 1 of this year, the annexation of any property larger than 75 acres required cities to hold protest proceedings. If fewer than 25 percent of the residents of the area protested, the annexation could be approved by a council. If more than 50 percent of the residents protested, the annexation effort died immediately.

If between 25 and 50 percent protested, an election was required. Several such elections have failed in Los Gatos, most recently in the Blossom Hill Manor neighborhood last summer.

Under revised state law, 15 of the town's 16 main unincorporated areas could be annexed from Santa Clara County to Los Gatos without the usual requirement of protest proceedings or elections. The town would still hold two public hearings, but the council would have ultimate discretion.

The law applies to all such unincorporated pockets smaller than 150 acres and expires after Dec. 31, 2006. After that time, protest proceedings would still be required but elections would not.

The most common argument residents have made against annexation is that the town's building and planning regulations, as well as costs, are too restrictive.

At a study session before its April 4 meeting, Los Gatos Town Council members discussed the merits of annexing the 15 areas. The smallest is one 5,150-square-foot lot and the largest contains 229 lots on 75.3 acres. Blossom Hill Manor, at nearly 175 acres, is too large to be annexed under the revised law.

Officials from both the county and the Local Agency Formation Commission, a state-mandated agency that oversees boundaries, have encouraged all cities in their jurisdictions to pursue the streamlined annexations.

Vice Mayor Diane McNutt said that she could see how the state, county, residents and town would benefit but that the town was last on that list. She said the state would get tidier jurisdictions, the county would get out of the land-use and residential business, and residents would get services and opportunities provided to citizens of Los Gatos. While the town will get some property tax revenue that currently goes to the county, annexations do cost the town a considerable amount of money in surveyor fees and other costs.

"Having the county step forward and reduce or waive those fees so that it costs the least amount possible for the town to proceed ... is going to be very important for me," McNutt said.

The following night, county supervisors issued a referral authorizing county staff to determine the exact cost of such annexations. Rachael Gibson, land-use policy advisor to District 1 Supervisor Don Gage, told the Los Gatos Weekly-Times that the cost of annexing all eligible unincorporated areas in the county has been estimated at between $14,000 and $300,000.

Once county supervisors have a clear idea of the cost from the county surveyor and the state Board of Equalization, they may decide to absorb any county costs or at least reduce them.

Gibson was also at the April 4 council meeting, at which she said the county would be doing anything it could to eliminate barriers to annexation.

"And that's not just the costs but also removal of barriers that are more or less perceptions by some of our unincorporated residents," she said. "The referral that one of our fellow supervisors put forward is to indicate to our unincorporated island residents that we are going to be changing our development regulations to match those of the surrounding cities. That's probably the strongest message I think we can send to our folks in the islands that we're serious about annexing them this time."

In fact, county counsel Ann Ravel sent a letter to Blossom Hill Manor residents last summer stating that the county would be considering amendments to its regulations that would make unincorporated areas "subject to the identical zoning and permit processes as the surrounding city." But the letter was sent after many of the mail-ballot votes had been cast.

If the regulations are changed, though, Mayor Mike Wasserman said that there would be little reason for residents to remain under county jurisdiction.

"I think once the [county] residents ... realize that the building regulations of the county and adjacent town or city are going to be similar, I don't think there would be a whole lot of objection," Wasserman said.

Council members Joe Pirzynski and Barbara Spector also voiced their support for the process, but Pirzynski especially emphasized the need for county support.

Councilman Steve Glickman, however, said he was concerned about bypassing protest proceedings and elections.

"I'm kind of in favor of elections--they're sort of democratic," he said. "I would like to bring in people who want to be members of our town and not have them resent having had something done to them against their will."

The council directed town staff members to wait before researching the issue further and initiating annexation efforts until more cost information is available. They also said to hold off on supporting the Local Agency Formation Commission's efforts to increase the acreage limit and extend the legislation's sunset date until that information is available.