Airport Green Neighborhood Association

Airport Green Neighborhood Association

Neighborhood Profile

The Airport Green Neighborhood is located near the southern edge of, and is within, the section of East Vancouver known as Evergreen. To the east and north of historic Evergreen Airport, it is a relatively small and well-defined neighborhood, sock-like in shape, occupying an area of approximately 60 acres. The neighborhood boundaries are described as the center line of Hearthwood Blvd. west to 138th Avenue, the northeasterly side of SE 1st Street, to include the landscaped setback area of the Airport Green Industrial Park (plated as Tract "A"), north to the centerline of NE 9th Street

Most of the Airport Green Neighborhood consisVTS of single-family residences on R1-7.5 loVTS, those on the west side of 138th Avenue being larger as the result of an airplane taxiway easement providing the home-owners with access to the Evergreen Airport. The neighborhood also includes 44 duplex uniVTS, an office building, a church/meeting hall of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SainVTS and a strip of land along SE 1st Street belonging to the Airport Green Industrial Park serving as a landscaped buffer between single-family residences and the planned industrial park.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

During the early 1890's, the Cascade Park-Evergreen area was owned by Jacob Duback. Jacob had twelve children and the Dubacks built and lived in the house on SE Mill Plain Blvd. now known as Henker's Antique and Collectibles. In 1944, Roy Sugg purchased 325 acres north of Mill Plain Blvd., between 136th Avenue and 164th Avenue. On November 2, 1945, Sugg's Airport held its grand opening. Sugg, with Roy Hubert, owned a Taylorcraft distributorship and made plans to develop an "aircamp," sort of an aviation RV park. Waldo (Wally) Olson and E. V. Puckett operated a flight school. In 1946, Sugg sold the airport to Wally Olson, but only the land on the West Side of 138th Avenue was included in the sale.

The Sugg family retained 221 acres northeast of the airport until 1958 when Herbert Sugg, Roy's son, sold them to Kenneth and Marjorie Hanson. According to Mrs. Hanson, she and her husband operated a Christmas tree farm and planted approximately 200,000 trees. In 1969, when plans for the development of Cascade Park were announced, the Hansons sold all but 5 acres to a Dr. Dowd, who developed the property on the east side of Hearthwood Blvd. as the Hearthwood subdivision. The Airport Green property passed to Wallace & Joan Teuscher and Osghar Sadri, in 1978, who subdivided it the following year.

The Airport Green Neighborhood Association (AGNA) was formed in 1993. The association quickly began organizing a crime watch program and focusing on undeveloped Hearthwood Park. In the spring of 1994, AGNA organized the planting of thirty-seven (37) flowering plum trees at the park, along Hearthwood Blvd. In December of that same year, AGNA officers appeared before the Clark County Commissioners and obtained funding for greenspace improvements to the park which were accomplished in the fall of 1995. AGNA also lobbied for the siting of the Cascade Park Community Library on Hearthwood Blvd. The neighborhood was included in the Cascade Park-Evergreen annexation on January 1, 1997, and was recognized as the City of Vancouver's 31st neighborhood association on March 3, 1997.

We seek to preserve and improve our community as a means of maintaining our high quality of life. We feel safe in our neighborhood and support a well-organized crime watch program to assure continued security. Walkers, joggers and cyclists of all ages enjoy our quiet and clean sidewalks and streets. Hearthwood Blvd., an arterial collector, borders our neighborhood and we have safety concerns for young pedestrians and cyclists due to excessive speeds by motorists. Safety for pedestrians and those using wheelchairs would be enhanced if Hearthwood Blvd. had sidewalks, with curb ramps, from NE 9th Street to SE Mill Plain Blvd.

Our lives are enriched by many nearby amenities. Hearthwood Park provides an open-space venue for recreation, relaxation and community-building activities. The adjacent Hearthwood Elementary School not only offers educational opportunities for youth, but also serves as a convenient location for neighborhood meetings. The Cascade Park Community Library, a full-service Post Office and essential shopping are within walking distance or, conveniently, on the way. The nearby Evergreen Airport and the antique airplanes that fly overhead, give our neighborhood a unique ambiance.