BATTLE GROUND — The city of Battle Ground is famously named for a battle that never took place, but Jane Elder Wulff is hopeful the city will see some scrappiness once again.
“These days, people are afraid to speak up. For a long time, there was a lot of give-and-take among different people with different ideas and life experiences,” said Wulff, who has lived in the city since 1978. “We got beat up sometimes, but we came out smiling. I’d love to see it go back to that way. I think Battle Ground can be a model for that. That’s who we are.”
That’s why Wulff has been pleased with the work done in recent months by the city and the Navigators, a committee of community volunteers who are tasked with looking at the future of Battle Ground. Their project, Roadmap, started with a survey sent out in July asking residents what their ideal version of the city looks like. The city received more than 2,000 surveys and published results in October, which stated that residents most favored an option that offers a range of in-town services and amenities serving north county, featuring a traditional downtown district with shops and cafes all while maintaining a commitment to Battle Ground’s rural, small-town heritage and history.
In 1993, Wulff was part of a group of residents who also conducted a survey asking residents what they wanted to see in Battle Ground. The priorities back then were preserving Battle Ground’s downtown and adding parks and open space.
On Thursday, the Navigators hosted an open house for residents to see some of their ideas and seek feedback on their work. The Navigators had six big ideas that have come out of their meetings, and asked residents which they’d most like to see:
• A successful school system.
• Old Town district revitalization.
• Develop new and expand existing activity centers and gathering places.
• Identify Battle Ground’s most competitive economic opportunities and employment niches for the future.
• Plan for the eventual redevelopment of the Battle Ground High School campus to accommodate a new town center for mixed-use housing, employment and recreation.
• Establish a new system of planning districts covering the entire city, reinforcing the unique identities of Battle Ground’s various areas and establishing a framework and vision for future development.
“All of these concepts came out of the survey and Navigator meetings,” said Erin Erdman, the city’s community development director and interim city manager.
The Navigators will review feedback they got at Thursday’s open house, which was attended by 56 people, and make changes accordingly. They’ll bring their plan to the city council in early December, Erdman said.
Visitors to the open house were asked to place a sticker by the “big idea” they felt was most important plus one more. The successful school system received the most overall stickers and second-highest total of “most important” stickers. The “big idea” receiving the largest number of most important stickers was the one on redeveloping the Battle Ground High School site. That item wasn’t in the top half of ideas overall, but nearly all of the stickers it received were “most important” ones.
Superintendent Mark Ross said it’s encouraging people are interested in improving schools. Battle Ground Public Schools have run three facilities bonds since 2016, but all three have failed. District officials are looking at solutions for overcrowding in the district.
“It makes me hopeful,” Ross said. “It says the community is interested in quality schools. I hope that support continues next time we run a bond.”
Ross has been in the district five years, and said the idea of redeveloping the high school site has been around since before he got to Battle Ground. Right now, it’s not even in preliminary discussions, he said. There are other buildings in the district that need help first, Ross said, including schools in the district’s south end. He also said the high school is too new to receive state matching funds for its replacement.
Battle Ground High School can receive state matching funds starting in 2026 when it will be 30 years from its last remodel. Ross said it makes sense to wait until the district can get matching funds to redevelop the high school site so the district can do more with its money.
Ross is also hopeful after Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, and Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, said they would consider legislation allowing facilities bonds to pass by a simple majority, rather than the 60 percent supermajority currently required during a Washington State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.
Besides the school items, getting more activity centers and trails were some of the other most popular big ideas. Rick Sawczuk, one of the Navigators, said he got a lot of feedback Wednesday about trails. Sawczuk, a pastor at Battle Ground Foursquare Church, said he feels like there has been a lot of buy-in by residents and city officials.
“Everyone from here loves it,” said Sawczuk, who moved to the city a little more than a year ago. “They want to protect its charm. Change is inevitable. We’re trying to focus and plan it well.”
Richard Bacher moved to the city about three years ago. He’s been following along with the project and was interested to see what the Navigators came up with so far. At the open house, he was slightly concerned about bringing in jobs and industry.
“The reason people moved here is the thing that is lost when industry comes,” Bacher said, adding that he was talking about neighborhoods and open space.
One major question Battle Ground officials are trying to answer with this project is if residents are OK with the city serving as a bedroom community. According to 2015 Census data, 7.6 percent of Battle Ground residents work in the city, placing it behind Vancouver (34.9 percent), Woodland (18.7 percent), Camas (13.2 percent) and Washougal (9.7 percent).
