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SUBJECTS › LEGAL › Municipal Incorporation
Updated 11/08

Municipal Incorporation

Under Washington law, an area can incorporate as a city if it has a minimum of 1500 inhabitants. If within five air miles of the boundaries of a city with a population of 15,000 or more, the area must have a minimum of 3000 inhabitants. The basic procedure to incorporate is set out in Chapter 35.02 RCW - Incorporation Proceedings., and it includes a petition requirement, review by a boundary review board or the county legislative body in counties without a board, and an election. If the voters approve the proposed incorporation, a primary election to nominate candidates for city council (and, in mayor-council cities, a mayor) and then an election to select the city council must be held. The new city must officially incorporate, at a date set by the initial city council, within 360 days of the incorporation election.

Fifteen cities have incorporated in Washington State since 1990. During the two decades prior to 1990, only one city had incorporated in the state. This recent surge in incorporation activity, which also includes a number of failed incorporation attempts, can be attributed, to a great extent, to the rapid population growth in the state over the past decade, particularly in the Puget Sound region where all of the recent incorporations have taken place. The increasing urbanization and sprawl that has resulted has caused many communities to consider incorporation as a means of exercising local control over community character and destiny.

MRSC has responded to this incorporation boom in part by preparing two publications to aid communities in deciding whether to incorporate, in navigating the process of incorporation, and in establishing a viable, functioning city government. See the recently updated Municipal Incorporation Guide and The New City Guide.

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