Damascus is a
census-designated place and former city in
Clackamas County,
Oregon,
United States. Established in 1867, it was incorporated in 2004 in an effort to enable local land use decision-making control by the community. Its residents voted to disincorporate in 2016, and, after a legal challenge, its disincorporation was completed in 2020. Damascus is located east of
Happy Valley and
Interstate 205 and west of
Boring. The population was 10,539 residents as of the
2010 census.
About Damascus, Oregon
According to Oregon Geographic Names, Damascus can date its existence as a community back to 1867, when a post office by that name was established. That post office was closed in 1904. The original heart of the community is along Oregon Route 212, which as of 2004 served as part of the city's southern boundary.
A 2000 decision by Metro to expand Portland's urban growth boundary into the area prompted some citizens of the community to submit Measure 3-138, a measure on the ballot for the 2004 general election in November. The initiative's passage resulted in the incorporation of the former unincorporated communities of Damascus and Carver into the City of Damascus, a step which prevented nearby cities from annexing the community. The city was the first new city in Oregon in 22 years.
In a special election on September 21, 2005, a city charter was approved by 88% of its voters. Voters in eleven parcels of land between Damascus and Happy Valley were given the chance to vote on annexation to Damascus: six of the areas voted for annexation, four voted against, and in the eleventh no votes were cast.
As a city, Damascus went through seven city managers in eight years, and generally had a contentious existence as a municipality.[citation needed] This included a vote to disincorporate the city and to recall the mayor in 2013.
In the May 17, 2016 primary, the citizens of Damascus voted a second time on a proposal to disincorporate. This time, the proposal was approved, and the city ostensibly ceased to exist on July 18, 2016.[citation needed] However, the disincorporation was nullified by the Oregon Appellate Court on May 1, 2019. The court held that the voter turnout did not reach the State's fifty percent threshold and therefore should have been invalidated back in 2016. On September 3, 2020, the Oregon Supreme Court reinstated the disincorporation vote of 2016 and the city no longer exists. What was once the City of Damascus is now unincorporated territory in Clackamas County.