Vancouver may become state's 2nd largest city

[Sundodger]

Vancouver may become No. 2

VANCOUVER, Wash.

[Sundodger]

The annexation would bring Vancouver's population to over 220,000 people.

[Southernyank]

I never knew there was a Vancouver Washington. whats it like?

[Sundodger]

^ It is mostly suburbs for nearby Portland, OR across the river. Historically, Vancouver was once the most important city in Washington territory. It is located on the site of the Hudson Bay Co.'s Ft. Vancouver on the Columbia River. In the last 15 or 20 years, growth in the area has skyrocketed. With no state income tax in Washington and no sales tax in Oregon, there was an advantage to living in Vancouver. Also many corporate and high tech campuses have sprung up in the Vancouver area.

Here are a few aerials of Vancouver -

East edge of Vancouver looking west. Downtown Vancouver is located in the SW corner of the city in the distance. Portland and PDX airport are across the river:

Here is downtown Vancouver looking N. The Island in the river is in Oregon. Historic Ft. Vancouver is the open area on the right:

The Mountains outside of Vancouver. Left to right: Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt Adams. The Vancouver suburb of Ridgefield in foreground:

[ZachariahDaMan]

I never knew there was a Vancouver Washington. whats it like?

I didn't know there was a Vancouver, Washington either.

There is some interesting history about it on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver%2C_Washington

[MJLO]

Wow good stuff on Vancouver. I didn't realize how close Portland OR was to WA state. Goes to show you what I know.

[PghUSA]

Nice pics, hope those turkeys (or are they ostrichs with their heads in the . . . ) in Harrisburg are READING this. Annexation yes it does exist, consolidation would be even better.

Great pics of Vancouver, SunD, would you consider Vancouver a 'burb of Portland? I think they should go for it, I'd like to see more annexations throughout America.

[Sundodger]

^ Vancouver is most definitely a suburb of Portland. It is directly across the river from Portland. Portland Intl. airport is also directly across the river from Vancouver and downtown Portland is 10 miles away from downtown Vancouver. In the pictures above, the island below downtown Vancouver is part of the city of Portland and because of the lack of a sales tax in Oregon, many people cross the Columbia to shop. Plus many people work in Portland too, though Vancouver's corporate and work base is growing. SEH America (world's largest silicon wafer supplier), Nautilus Group (exercise equipment), Applied Motion Systems, Papa Murphy's, and a few others are based there and there are some huge high tech campuses on the east side of town. Also one of the state's newest 4-year universities is located just north of town, in an area that will inevitabaly be swallowed up by Vancouver. The area is booming because of its proximity to Portland, the affordability, and in some cases the lack of an income tax (for folks who don't work in Oregon).

Also annexations are common out west, we don't have those pesky townships. In Washington there has been a trend to force highly populated unincorporated areas away from county services via annexation or the creation of a new city. Many of the state's largest cities were created in the last 5-12 years. Federal Way (pop. 86,000), Spokane Valley (pop. 85,000), Lakewood (pop. 59,000), Shoreline (pop. 53,000, Sammamish (pop. 34,000), Burien (pop. 31,000) University Place (pop. 31,000), and SeaTac (pop. 25,000) are all recent creations. Cities like Renton may double in size and have over 100,000 with prospective annexations, though those areas may choose to incorporate by themselves.

Seattle and Burien have an annexation battle brewing over White Center:

Neighboring cities jockey to grab North Highline

ANNEXATION TIMELINE

May-June: County and cities host open houses on the question of annexation.

July: County executive and mayors of Seattle and Burien consider annexation plan.

December: City councils may vote on annexation plan.

November 2007: North Highline residents vote on plan.

March 2009: Annexation complete.

(for an interactive map, click above article)

White Center:

Here are the 10 cities who have annexed the most people since April 1, 2000:

Pasco 12,124

Vancouver 11,240

Seattle 9,624

Yakima 7,635

Renton 6,788

Everett 6,012

Issaquah 5,848

Bellevue 5,673

Kennewick 5,659

Battle Ground 5,638

[Sundodger]

Here is a map of Vancouver and the potential future annexations. The current city limits are in green and the urban growth area is in grey.

[Sundodger]

2005 Census Estimates are in for cities over 100k (stay tuned for the more accurate, more complete 2006 OFM estimates next week!)

Washington cities over 100k, # of people added since 2000 census:

Seattle: 573,911, +10,537

Spokane: 196,818, +1,189

Tacoma: 195,898, +2,342

Vancouver: 157,493, +13,933

Bellevue: 117,137, +7,568