RIDGEFIELD, Wash. (KATU) — Ridgefield, Washington’s fastest-growing city according to census data, has seen sprawling development in recent years with little pushback. However, the latest plans for residential, commercial and tourism development along the city’s waterfront have a number of residents up in arms.
“In April of 2026, the Port of Ridgefield released a concept online that many of the residents saw and we were all shocked at the development, the density of it, that there were apartments,” said Wendy McIntire Gilbert, a Ridgefield resident of eight years and one of the organizers of a movement opposing the latest development plan.
McIntire Gilbert and her group have collected more than 3,400 signatures on an online petition opposing the development plan, citing concerns about wildlife, infrastructure, the boat launch and public-use areas. The 40-acre lot borders the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses more than 5,000 acres of protected land…