On June 3, more than 100 people packed into the Ukiah Valley Conference Center downtown, a third of them gripping red-and-white signs that read “No Ukiah Annexation.” Near the front doors, a cluster of sign-holders huddled like a football team, whispering strategy and rehearsing zingers for when the mic would finally be theirs. They came ready to blast city officials over a sweeping proposal to triple the size of Ukiah, swallowing swaths of unincorporated land into city limits.

The atmosphere was electric — a mix of tension, anticipation and quiet defiance. City officials, police officers, firefighters and curious onlookers lined the walls, watching as the two sides of a simmering land-use fight faced off.

Phil Williams, the city’s attorney guiding the annexation process, stepped up to the mic. The crowd quieted. He assured them: Nothing was set in stone. The city was still collecting feedback. Then came the curveball.

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There would be no Q&A. No speeches. No microphone for the sign-holders to grill officials in front of a crowd. Instead, Williams announced, attendees could visit a series of breakout stations scattered around the room — one for code enforcement, another for police, another for city management — to share their concerns one-on-one with city officials.

Residents hold “No Ukiah Annexation” signs during a packed city-led workshop on the proposal.

The air went out of the room. The “No Ukiah Annexation” crowd had come for a showdown, not quiet chats. Within five minutes of the format reveal, nearly half the crowd had left, signs tucked under arms, their big moment evaporated.

The city may have defused the tension that afternoon, but the fight was far from over. 

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Just two and a half hours north of San Francisco, Ukiah is the largest city in Mendocino County, the region’s government and agricultural hub. For nearly 30 years, city leaders have been laying the groundwork to push beyond city limits. In 1995, Ukiah began mapping land-use plans for surrounding areas, arguing that what was then scattered development needed a more coordinated approach. By 2006, the city had drawn an ambitious “sphere of influence” — a state-mandated planning boundary that marks where a city expects to grow and provide services in the future. Since 2020, Ukiah has moved aggressively within that zone, consolidating control over key utilities like water, sewer and fire protection.

Outside the city, those services have long been fragmented. Many neighborhoods rely on privately run water and sanitation districts. Law enforcement falls to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for a sprawling county bigger than Rhode Island and often stretched thin. Fire protection is handled by a patchwork of local and state agencies. Through annexation, city officials say they can bring order to the chaos, unifying services under one umbrella.

A draft map outlines the city of Ukiah’s proposed annexation area, spanning neighborhoods north and south of city limits.

The city’s ultimate annexation plan, outlined in early public drafts, aims to triple Ukiah’s size by pulling in sprawling neighborhoods that now sit just outside city limits. It doesn’t stop at housing and business centers — the proposal also sweeps in vast stretches of vineyards and farmland and a major stretch of the Russian River, extending Ukiah’s reach from the shores of Lake Mendocino all the way to the base of the Hopland Grade.

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This past April, Ukiah city staff went........

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