Mill Creek, Washington

How Mill Creek is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

  Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

      Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

  Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

  Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

    Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this

    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

cityofmillcreek.com

Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 98082 or everyone in Washington.

Population over time

From 18,244 in 2010 to 20,926 in 2020 (+14.7%).

History

Development

The Mill Creek area was originally settled in the early 20th century by various farming families, from whom several local placenames are now derived. After the construction of the Bothell–Everett Highway in 1913 as part of the Pacific Highway, two junctions at Murphy's Corner and Wintermute's Corner gained small stores and filling stations to serve visitors. In 1931, Doctor Manch N. Garhart acquired 800 acres (320 ha) in the area and used it to grow Gravenstein apples and Bartlett pears while also raising cattle. The Garhart property, named Lake Dell Farm for a small reservoir built by local families, was later sold in 1967 to real estate developers after the market for local lumber and fruits had declined.

The Garhart property, along with several neighboring farms, were optioned by various real estate developers in the 1960s and 1970s as a potential master planned community due to its proximity to the recently completed Interstate 5. It would be the first modern planned city in Washington state, following in the footsteps of earlier planned cities like Longview, built in 1918. The community, named "Olympus", was planned to include 3,300 acres (1,300 ha) in its first phase with 1,300 acres (530 ha) for homes, an industrial park, a shopping center, and a golf course. After a local recession in the early 1970s, the development project was sold in 1973 to Tokyu Land Development and designed by a subsidiary of the Obayashi Corporation named United Development. The development was renamed "Mill Creek", beating out the Chinook Jargon word "Klahanie", although there had never been a mill in the vicinity and a waterway of that name was not present in the area until the 2000 renaming of Smokehouse Creek.

Mill Creek's master plan was submitted to the county council in January 1974. A homeowners association was established in December 1974 with funding from United Development to manage the area's security patrol, street maintenance, and other tasks. The initial plan included consist of 4,600 homes, with eventual plans to house 12,000 people, a 260-acre (110 ha) park, and an 18-hole golf course. Construction began in early 1975 on the golf course and adjoining country club, while the first homes were under construction by the following year. The first set of homes were designed to resemble country residences, with large floorplans and prominent use of wood furnishings, and sold for an average of $65,000 (equivalent to $368,000 in 2025 dollars). Tokyu Land Development later re-used these home designs for the domestic market in Japan, where they were sold under the "Mill Creek" brand in the 1990s. The final phase of the original Mill Creek development, consisting of 33 condominiums, was completed in late 2003.

Incorporation and annexations

A majority of the first phase's 1,767 homes and condominiums were completed by early 1983, when an incorporation petition was submitted by residents after reaching the population threshold of 3,000 needed for cityhood. 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. Mill Creek was officially incorporated as a city on September 30, 1983, ten days after a vote of residents passed, and encompassed 1.92 square miles (5.0 km2). Mill Creek was the first new city to be incorporated in Snohomish County since Brier in 1965 and the newest in the state since Ocean Shores in 1970.

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. The city's telephone system was split between three long-distance calling areas by GTE until the state utilities and transportation commission approved a consolidated calling area for toll-free service. 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. The city government's offices moved four times by the end of the decade, between various leased buildings that all served as temporary city halls. A separate post office serving the city was promised at the time of incorporation, but was not opened until 1994.

The city attempted its first annexations in 1986, but an advisory vote of existing residents rejected one proposal and the city council deferred action on another. Mill Creek approved its first annexation, an 88-acre (36 ha) parcel southeast of the main development, in July 1987, while the nearby city of Everett began its own annexations of areas to the north of Mill Creek. In 1989, the city proposed a major annexation of 350 acres (140 ha), a 25 percent increase in size, to add undeveloped commercial parcels on the west side of the Bothell–Everett Highway. 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Washington

• Seattle 737,015
• Spokane 228,989
• Tacoma 219,346
• Vancouver 190,915
• Bellevue 151,854
• Kent 136,588
• Everett 110,629
• Renton 106,785

All Washington cities →