By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Karen Moran, a mother of three who is actively pushing for incorporation of the plateau, says: "The battle is not about no growth. That's over. Now it's about growth with care."

In February, a group of plateau residents collected about 2,500 signatures, with which they hope to qualify for a communitywide vote on incorporation later this year. The proposed name of the new city would be Sammamish.

The group found that about one in 20 residents said they did not favor incorporation because they feared it would raise taxes or erode the county's interest in investing in new roads on the plateau.

About five years ago, the plateau rejected a similar proposal for incorporation. The mood seems different this time around, according to Moran.

"What we got in feedback was that people want to have a say in the growth that is coming to the area," she says.

The group also drew new boundary lines that exclude the communities of Klahanie and Providence Point, which voted against incorporation last time.

Providence Point is a gated community for seniors. You have to be 55 or older to live there. In the past 13 years, about 1,000 people have bought homes priced from $120,000 to $325,000.

Continued:

• King County's rural getaway wrestles with rapid growth
• Safety, quiet have lured many to popular plateau
• Balancing past with pocketbook isn't easy
• Old country feel hasn't quite died off