Federal Way residents voted to incorporate their community as a city in March 1989. The vote was 9,838 to 4,381. On Feb. 28 of the following year, Federal Way incorporated as a city.

Federal Way’s path to incorporation lasted many years and, particularly in the 1960s and early 70s, it was never a sure thing. The first proposal for cityhood presented to Federal Way voters occurred in 1971 and was defeated by a margin of 1,519 to 314.

In the 1960s, Federal Way’s population exploded, rising from 14,000 in 1960 to 52,000 in 1970. However, the 1971 ballot measure featured a proposed city that excluded major areas traditionally marked as Federal Way. The proposed city would have included only 13,500 people and 4.5 square miles. The areas of Federal Way excluded from the proposal included the newly-opened Weyerhaeuser corporate headquarters east of Interstate 5. Weyerhaeuser objected to inclusion in Federal Way on the ground that it was satisfied with the existing services offered by King County to its unincorporated land.

One reason for the rejection of the incorporation measure appeared to be that residents of such Federal Way neighborhoods as Dumas Palisades, Spring Valley and especially Redondo regarded themselves as residents of those neighborhoods rather than any larger entity called Federal Way. Connie Parker, a Federal Way school board member, told Seattle Times reporter Walt Woodward in 1969 that Federal Way was not a community but “a collection of communities.”

Similarly, John Bocek, a school board member and lawyer, chose not to describe Federal Way as a unified community but “a collection of neighborhoods.” This lack of an attachment to the concept of Federal Way among some residents encouraged outsiders to try to partition the community. The governments of Auburn and Tacoma made no secret that they eyed certain portions of the community for future annexation.

In addition to a relative weakness in community identity, other reasons for the cityhood movement’s unsuccess in 1971 were economic in nature. John Bocek, spokesman for the opposition to the 1971 ballot measure, declared that Federal Way was mostly a residential community that lacked a sufficient level of business activity to provide revenue for a city government.

Another tactic of the anti-cityhood movement was to argue that a city government would bring more taxes and burdensome regulation to Federal Way business. Businessmen in the community, as Federal Way Chamber of Commerce president Norval Latimer stated back in 1964, did not want “any large single body” — in this case, a city government —controlling Federal Way’s growth.

As the 1970s wore on, the side in favor of incorporation gathered more influence as it focused on the issue of uncontrolled growth in Federal Way. The 70s saw a massive area building boom with the construction of SeaTac Mall as the most prominent example.

In 1981 as voters prepared to decide on a new cityhood proposal — encompassing a much larger population and land than the 1971 measure — the pro-incorporation committee tried to highlight the “unplanned, uncontrolled growth” in the community. The committee declared that Pacific Highway South was transformed from an “attractive country road into a cluttered, junky looking strip — just like the kind you might find on the outskirts” of Los Angeles.

The pro-incorporation side also believed that King County was outrageously permissive in granting building permits to developers, that it allowed the traffic congestion on South 320th Street to reach unmanageable levels and that it took in tax dollars from Federal Way at a much higher rate than it gave back in services.

The anti-incorporation effort in 1981 featured the fears of businesses that a Federal Way city government would add “another tax-imposing layer of bureaucracy,” in the words of the group leading the effort. The cityhood proposal lost by 858 votes (out of 13,750 cast) because of, according to Federal Way News reporter Mike Robinson (writing in 1985), a “last minute scare tactic —a flier that warned ominously of higher taxes” on Federal Way residents.

After voters rejected another cityhood proposal in 1985, the pro-incorporation effort picked up steam, though opponents remained visible. Some residents continued to fear excess taxes and regulations as well as believe that the community still did not have an adequate tax base among its businesses to fund a city government.

Meanwhile, in the view of pro-cityhood activists, Federal Way continued to overdevelop and suffer more traffic congestion than ever. Pro-cityhood activists such as Debbie Ertel (who would become Federal Way’s first mayor) focused their energies on building support for preserving green spaces in the midst of the bustle and congestion in Federal Way.

The efforts of activists such as Ertel helped build massive support for cityhood. In addition, many Federal Way businesspersons came to share the belief of pro-incorporation forces that it would be easier to deal with a city government in Federal Way than King County’s government in faraway Seattle. In 1989 pro-cityhood forces were finally successful. The ballot measure  that took effect in 1990 created a city of roughly 58,000 people and was supported by a large majority of Federal Way voters.

Chris Green is a member of the Historical Society of Federal Way.