Happy Anniversary! Woodinville Incorporated 20 Years Ago Tuesday

Like Woodinville Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Best wishes to Woodinville, a city that reportedly became a city 20 years ago Tuesday.

Woodinville formally became a city on March 27, 1993,  according to HistoryLink.org.

It took more than a few tries to get Woodinville incorporated, with discussions going back to the 70s. From HistoryLink:

...in the 1980s the focus shifted to incorporating Woodinville. The first effort, in 1981, didn’t get past King County’s Boundary Review Board, which said that Woodinville didn’t have a large enough tax base to support municipal operations. 

Incorporation efforts got more serious in 1985 when the City of Bothell proposed to annex territory that many considered part of Woodinville.  This time the Boundary Review Board’s response was more favorable, and the question to incorporate was put to the ballot on September 15, 1986.  It failed by 33 votes out of more than 4,200 cast.  Backers tried again, but were derailed by Thomas McBride, who appealed to the County Council to have his 400-acre farm on Hollywood Hill excluded from the proposed city. McBride explained that he did not oppose incorporation itself -- he just didn’t want his farm to be included.  He lost, and another vote to incorporate Woodinville was held on March 14, 1989. This one failed too, by even a closer margin -- 14 votes out of more than 7,000, a margin of two-tenths of 1 percent.

But less than a year later, a King County advisory committee recommended that a 256-bed jail be built near Cottage Lake.  Suddenly incorporation became more attractive, since incorporating Woodinville would prevent King County from building a jail in the city.  It also helped that when incorporation was once again put on the ballot on May 19, 1992, the area proposed for incorporation was far smaller than previous proposals -- 5.7 square miles as opposed to 23 miles in 1981 and 16.5 square miles in the 1986 and 1989 elections.  This time incorporation passed, by 52 votes out of more than 1,600 cast. Woodinville formally became a city on March 27, 1993, and celebrated with its annual All Fools Parade and Basset Bash dog show.

This year's parade and Basset Bash has been moved this year to a summer date, mainly for the better weather, according to the Greater Woodinville Chamber of Commerce. 

What do you remember about the city of Woodinville incorporating? Tell us in comments.

Previous coverage:

Woodinville's All Fools' Day Parade Moves to Less Foolish Date

Release the Hounds: 30th Annual Basset Bash to Take Place Aug. 10