The Ridgefield City Council voted to approve one annexation and held a first reading on another during its Thursday, Jan. 22 meeting, advancing long-running discussions about growth and the city’s urban growth area.
Council members approved the second reading of an ordinance annexing roughly 30 acres in the southwest portion of the Gee Creek Plateau Subarea, known as the Oberreuter and Degenhardt properties. The vote followed months of discussion and a previous public hearing that drew concerns from nearby residents about traffic, access and impacts to natural wildlife habitat.
Community Development Director Claire Lust told council that the annexation ordinance includes an unusual condition requiring a future zoning study before development can proceed.
“So it’s a bit of a unique feature in the drafted ordinance that council doesn’t typically see, but based on your feedback, we consulted with the city attorney and are including that in the proposal as a reasonable form of mitigation that would require a careful study of what zoning this site could actually support,” Lust said.
Several councilors expressed lingering discomfort with approving annexation while knowing development is likely at some point, even if not immediately.
“I still don’t feel great,” Councilor Meghan Hamilton said. “I respect Mr. Wells very much and agree with everything he’s saying, but I have a hard time compartmentalizing. We’re looking at the Envision Ridgefield 2045 (growth plan). We’re looking for the next 20 years, and I’m supposed to just be like, nope, we’re just looking at an annexation. That doesn’t make sense to me as a citizen.”
Others argued that annexation gives the city more authority to protect sensitive areas than leaving the land under county jurisdiction.
“I think we have more tools to preserve critical areas by completing annexation, as compared to staying out of it,” Councilor Rian Davis said. “This is a parcel that is a part of our math. That population is already a part of our math, and so to turn it away, we would have to make up elsewhere for that because we have been assigned a certain amount of growth.”
Council ultimately approved the annexation on a 5–2 vote, with Hamilton and Councilor Katie Favella voting no.
Later in the meeting, the council held a public hearing and first reading for a separate annexation covering about 32 acres on the eastern portion of the Gee Creek Plateau, referred to as the Kelly–Windy Hills annexation. No vote was taken, and the proposal will return for a second reading at a future meeting.
Lust explained that the proposal includes seven parcels, one of which contains Windy Hills Winery, and emphasized that the item before the council was limited to annexation, not development.
“The item before you now is a first reading and public hearing only, so no action is requested at this date,” Lust said.
She also told the council the winery’s owners intend to continue operating.
“They did indicate that they do not intend to abandon Windy Hills Winery,” Lust said. “They intend to continue operating the winery on the eastern portion of that site.”
One nearby resident spoke in support of the Kelly–Windy Hills annexation during the public hearing.
“I believe in the annexations of any of that area that we now call the Gee Creek Plateau,” Roy Harrison said. “I totally support this one. As growth management has said needs to occur, we’re going to see growth whether we like it or not.”
The Kelly–Windy Hills annexation is proposed to be zoned “residential low-density 4” with a residential cluster overlay and an urban holding overlay, which would remain in place until infrastructure requirements are met. The council is expected to consider the ordinance for action at a later meeting.
During the meeting, Ridgefield Police Officer Kaylin Debiak also reported that the Ridgefield Police Department’s Pink Patch campaign raised $3,900.58 for the Pink Lemonade Project, a Vancouver-based nonprofit that provides support and resources for people impacted by breast cancer. Debiak helped lead the effort and design the 2025 patch, which was sold at participating local stores and at the department.
