Council signals cautious support for HCT subdistrict; mayor to report to regional board

Battle Ground City Council members on March 2 offered cautious support for moving forward on discussions about a proposed high‑capacity‑transit (HCT) subdistrict within the regional CRAN planning area and asked Mayor Eric Overberholzer to report back to the CRAN board with the council’s direction.

The mayor introduced the topic and said he sought council guidance ahead of a CRAN meeting next week. Council members questioned what being inside a subdistrict would mean for local taxpayers, whether voters in the subdistrict would need to approve taxes, and whether a larger service‑area boundary could override a smaller city carve‑out.

Council Member Pipers framed the main trade‑off as taxes versus representation: joining could create a taxing boundary that raises revenue but could also expose residents to new operating and maintenance levies for light‑rail. Council Member McCoy and others stressed that any subdistrict must be voter‑approved and noted the city has previously expressed opposition to local taxpayers paying for light rail on the interstate bridge. Council Member Bowman asked what would stop the regional body from making the entire service area a subdistrict and "outvoting" the city on taxation.

Council member Ferrer described having watched a full presentation and noted the timeline for creating a subdistrict could take up to two years, arguing that structural change would not happen overnight. After discussion, the mayor asked for a show of thumbs; a majority of council signaled support for the mayor to proceed with caution.

Staff will take the council’s guidance to the CRAN board; any boundary or tax measure would still require subsequent public and voter approvals.