SOUTHERN PINES — During an annual retreat, Cary mayor Koka Booth and the council members indicated Saturday that they will not force Wake County residents to be annexed into the town against their will.

Cary has grown enormously in the past 10 years, often annexing entire subdivisions at the requests of residents and developers, who want city water and town services. But in some cases, the town has grown around homes and older neighborhoods, creating what are nicknamed "doughnuts."

The planning department had recommended forcing annexation of these doughnuts. While the council indicated it would prefer a city without such gaps, they will wait for homeowners to sell to people interested in being annexed, rather than taking the land.

"I will never live long enough to go through another forced annexation," the News & Observer quoted Booth as saying. "If that is the tenor of this council, then I will not be a part of it."

Cary officials had been heavily criticized in the mid-80s when they unsuccessfully tried to annex the Medfield subdivision against homeowners' will.

The planning office was asked, however, to create a schedule for handling already-agreed to annexation agreements. Under these agreements, local governments such as Cary provide city services to a new development as long as the neighborhood agrees to be incorporated into the town when asked. About 150 such contracts are now on Cary's books, and could bring in an additional $105,000 in annual tax revenue.