At a meeting on June 7, the supervisors also decided to allocate $250,000 toward annexation costs and an additional $450,000 to upgrade roads in the unincorporated areas.

A state law that went into effect this year allows a city to annex any unincorporated area under 150 acres in the next two years without a vote from the residents who live there. Four of the nearly 170 such pockets in the county are in Saratoga. These unincorporated areas have long led a strange existence, getting their municipal service from the county while their neighbors got the same services from the city.

"It would be more efficient to annex these properties," said John Livingstone, the city's community development director. The Saratoga areas under consideration include properties off Prospect Road and Highway 9. Livingstone said he was in the process of preparing a report for the Saratoga City Council about the areas.

"The residents of these areas can now elect their own local government. They will have direct influence," Supervisor Liz Kniss said. "The same rules will apply to everyone. City residents can no longer complain that those in the unincorporated areas have an easier time when it comes to ordinances and building rules."

Kniss said that it was the county's policy to encourage annexations by local cities.

"We've been working on this for a long time," Kniss said. "I think that issues like land use are handled better at the city level. The constituents are also pleased because the cities take more interest in them. Cities like Saratoga and Monte Sereno have contacted me often to talk about annexing these unincorporated parcels."

Neelima Palacherla, executive officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission, an agency that promotes city growth in a logical manner, said the new law has made annexations of such parcels much more streamlined.

"Having little islands of unincorporated areas is not an efficient way of functioning. They don't lead to good governance," she said. "Now is the time to resolve these issues once and for all."

Mayor Kathleen King said that she is also in favor of resolving issues related to the unincorporated areas.

"The item will come up for discussion at a city council meeting. We'll have to make sure that the roads in these areas are up to current city standards. Also, we'll have to look into potential mudslide issues in these areas," she said.

Vice Mayor Norman Kline said the city has become more aggressive in recent years when it comes to annexing unincorporated areas. "The city is interested in preserving its hillsides and open spaces," he said. "Counties do not want to be part to be part of neighborhood development."

Kline said the city does have a sphere of influence in the unincorporated parcels when it comes to design guidelines but it has not always been effective.

"In the long run, the residents of these areas might get better services from the city than they do from the county," he said.