Commissioners peacefully cede 48 acres to Battle Ground

There never was a battle in Battle Ground, and the county’s No. 3 city continues to keep the peace.

County commissioners on Tuesday approved the city’s request to expand the urban growth area by 48 acres. Unfortunately, these days county land issues are settled not out on the land, but at the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St.

Oh well. At least everyone stayed dry.

The land, owned by Christine and Larry Scheel and Kay and Guy Wagner, will be rezoned from rural residential/R-5 to employment and office campus land.

The boundaries of the parcels: Northeast 254th Street to the north, SR 503 to the west, extension of Northeast 249th Street to the south and approximately 1,300 feet east of the intersection of N.E. 249th Street and Dublin Road.

Robert Maul, the city’s community development director, said the parcel is one of five that Clark College is considering for a north county expansion.

And if the college doesn’t want the land, Maul said, the city will work to attract another business to spur economic development.

Clark College North? Did anyone know about this?

Yes, said college spokeswoman Barbara Kerr. She said Clark College President Bob Knight mentioned it briefly during his 2011 State of the College address.

She emailed that part of his speech: “Our aspirations also include a new building devoted to science, technology, engineering and math – we call it STEM — on the west side of Fort Vancouver Way. They also include a brand new facility – similar to Clark College at Columbia Tech Center— in Northern or Central Clark County.”

However, Kerr said, no decision has been made about location and there’s no firm timeline to make that decision.

While commissioners did agreed to cede the territory, a few things need to happen before it becomes official. The city has to sign a pledge that the land will be used for employment and that concerns about traffic on 254th Street will be addressed.

Then the land will become officially urban, then the city will proceed with the annexation process.