In a way, Battle Ground has been seeking an identity since long before it officially existed.
As the city’s website notes, “The origin of the City’s name comes from a ‘battle’ that never occurred.” Soldiers from Fort Vancouver and local Native Americans squared off near the site in 1855, and varying versions of what happened survive to this day. Although Chief Umtuch was killed, the expected battle was averted, leading to the ironic name of a city that was incorporated in 1951.
So perhaps it is not surprising that Battle Ground and its 20,000 resident are dealing with the city’s contradictions today. It is part self-sustaining city, part bedroom community to Vancouver and even Portland. According to 2015 U.S. Census data, 7.6 percent of Battle Ground residents work in the city; by comparison, in Woodland the number is 18.7 percent, and in Ridgefield it is 6.4 percent. All of this has Battle Ground residents and leaders struggling to define their city — a common conundrum for cities of all sizes when faced with inevitable growth.
“We’re looking for an identity,” Erin Erdman, the city’s community development director, recently told The Columbian. “What path does the city want to go down? Is there something in the city that we can identify with for future marketing and branding, for future land-use decisions moving forward?”
Those decisions are never easy, and they inevitably engender differing opinions. Many residents would like to see commercial and industrial development that can bolster the tax base and provide more local jobs; others worry that growth will violate Battle Ground’s small-town zeitgeist. To gauge public sentiment, city leaders are preparing to conduct long-range planning for the first time since the early 2000s. “The city has grown organically quickly,” Erdman said. “We’ve lost that connection a little bit with the community. That’s what we’re looking for, to give that back, to get everybody more involved.”
In that regard, we offer some gentle suggestions. Any eventual decisions must adhere to the vision that residents and leaders have for their city, but some factors are unavoidable.
One is the fact that there will be growth, with estimates that Battle Ground’s population will be nearly 40,000 by 2035. Considering that the city had fewer than 10,000 people in 2000, such growth is inevitably transformative. Residents can try to deny that growth and fail to plan, or they can make it work for the city and use it to enhance the quality of life.
Another suggestion is that Battle Ground should look to Camas as a model. Once a company town dominated by a paper mill, Camas understood the need for managed growth and the need to develop a more diverse economy. Successfully attracting businesses over the past two decades has positioned the city to absorb a downsizing at the paper mill.
Finally, Battle Ground residents should recognize the role that schools play in attracting residents and employers, developing the workforce, and bolstering the economy. Voters within Battle Ground Public Schools recently narrowly rejected a $225 million bond request, and district officials have placed the bond on the ballot again for an April 24 election.
In voting for or against school bonds, residents send a message about what they envision for the future of their city. Do they wish to attract employers who desire well-supported schools in order to attract good employees? Or do they wish to tell the world that their city is closed for business?
Those questions are the latest in Battle Ground’s ongoing search for an identity.
