Editing Mill Creek, Washington (section)

===Incorporation and annexations===

A majority of the first phase's 1,767 homes and [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s were completed by early 1983, when an  [[municipal incorporation|incorporation]] petition was submitted by residents after reaching the population threshold of 3,000 needed for cityhood.<ref name="Times-Growing83"/> At the time, the homeowners association and county government had already provided much of the area's infrastructure and maintenance requirements, but local residents resisted attempts to raise property tax assessments.<ref name="Times-Growing83"/> Mill Creek was officially incorporated as a city on September 30, 1983, ten days after a vote of residents passed, and encompassed {{convert|1.92|sqmi|sqkm}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=September 14, 1983 |title=Mill Creek cityhood is on Tuesday ballot |page=G5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=December 14, 1983 |title=New city of Mill Creek has veteran police force already |page=G1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Mill Creek was the first new city to be incorporated in Snohomish County since [[Brier, Washington|Brier]] in 1965 and the newest in the state since [[Ocean Shores, Washington|Ocean Shores]] in 1970.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=October 12, 1983 |title=Mill Creek setting up shop as state's newest city |page=G1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

In the years following incorporation, Mill Creek reduced its property tax rates and formed its own [[police department]], [[library]], postal address, and land-use board.<ref>{{cite news |last=Godes |first=Kerry |date=March 1, 1989 |title=Mill Creek, the city, likes it that way |page=B2 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}}</ref> The city's [[telephone]] system was split between three [[long-distance calling]] areas by [[GTE]] until the [[Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission|state utilities and transportation commission]] approved a consolidated calling area for toll-free service.<ref>{{cite news |last=Koch |first=Anne |date=August 24, 1988 |title=Mill Creek phone system on the line |page=F1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Koch |first=Anne |date=December 20, 1988 |title=Utilities commission hangs up on citizens |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Sid Hanson, the chairman of the incorporation committee, was elected as the city's first mayor and served a single term until declining to run for re-election in 1987.<ref name="Times-Hanson">{{cite news |last=Casey |first=Carolyn |date=December 23, 1987 |title=Sid Hanson: The father of his city |page=H1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The city government's offices moved four times by the end of the decade, between various leased buildings that all served as temporary [[city hall]]s.<ref>{{cite news |last=Judd |first=Ron |date=September 19, 1989 |title=Chaos reigns while city hall moves |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><!--Permanent city hall?--> A separate [[post office]] serving the city was promised at the time of incorporation, but was not opened until 1994.<ref>{{cite news |last=Scattarella |first=Christy |date=August 9, 1994 |title=Petition provides reprieve for privately run post office |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

The city attempted its first [[annexation]]s in 1986, but an [[referendum|advisory vote]] of existing residents rejected one proposal and the city council deferred action on another.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=December 3, 1986 |title=Annexation proposal rejected |page=H5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Mill Creek approved its first annexation, an {{convert|88|acre|ha|adj=mid}} parcel southeast of the main development, in July 1987, while the nearby city of [[Everett, Washington|Everett]] began its own annexations of areas to the north of Mill Creek.<ref>{{cite news |last=Casey |first=Carolyn |date=July 23, 1987 |title=Mill Creekers feel Everett is gaining on them |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> In 1989, the city proposed a major annexation of {{convert|350|acre|ha}}, a 25 percent increase in size, to add undeveloped commercial parcels on the west side of the Bothell–Everett Highway.<ref>{{cite news |last=Casey |first=Carolyn |date=November 30, 1987 |title=Mill Creek considers 25% leap in size |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The western annexation was initially opposed by the county government, but was approved alongside four other annexations after Mill Creek agreed to share costs for road improvements to handle additional traffic demand.<ref>{{cite news |last=Judd |first=Ron |date=August 10, 1989 |title=Mill Creek takes breather in annexation rush |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref name="AnnexationMap">{{cite map |year=2013 |title=City of Mill Creek Annexation History |url=https://www.cityofmillcreek.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_9100852/File/City%20Government/Public%20Works%20&%20Development%20Services/Planning%20and%20Development/Maps/Annexations%20by%20Year_201306251429218182.pdf |publisher=City of Mill Creek |access-date=March 31, 2019}}</ref>

Everett attempted to annex the entire Murphy's Corner area in the late 1980s, but was forced to split the neighborhood at 132nd Street with Mill Creek after a decision by the state court of appeals and additional arbitration by boundary review boards.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bergsman |first=Jerry |date=May 21, 1991 |title=County, Mill Creek upheld |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Diane |date=October 29, 1993 |title=Cities agree to boundaries |page=B2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The [[Henry M. Jackson High School]] was opened in 1994 and is located on the Mill Creek side of Murphy's Corner, which was annexed the following year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bjorhus |first=Jennifer |date=January 12, 1995 |title=Growing Mill Creek swallows 2 schools |page=B3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> A private high school, [[Archbishop Murphy High School]], was opened in 1999 on a {{convert|22|acre|ha|adj=mid}} campus in northeastern Mill Creek.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 9, 1998 |title=New school building named for archbishop |page=B2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The {{convert|553|acre|ha|adj=mid}} Thomas Lake area in the northeastern corner of the city,<ref name="AnnexationMap"/> bordered to the north by 132nd Street and east by Seattle Hill Road, was annexed in 2005 and added 2,200 residents to the city's population.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 2, 2005 |title=Mill Creek will grow by 553 acres next month |page=H11 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The annexations of other developed [[subdivision (land)|subdivision]]s, lacking the original development's upscale image, created a divide between residents on the issue of further growth.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ho |first=Vanessa |date=June 10, 1992 |title=Growth pains original settlers of heavily planned Mill Creek |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Residents in several potential annexation targets preferred to be left alone by Mill Creek, due to its "snobbish" reputation, which faded as new neighborhoods were absorbed into the city.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=Diane |date=November 11, 1991 |title=Neighbors resort to end run against Mill Creek 'snobbery' |page=A1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>