Damascus is a census-designated place and once-disincorporated 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. It was disincorporated July 18, 2016 under a special Oregon Legislature-directed election process where a majority of those voting voted for the dissolution of the city on May 17, 2016. This vote was found to be against statute and was overturned by the Oregon Court of Appeals on May 1, 2019. Damascus is located east of Happy Valley and Interstate 205 and west of Boring. The area that later became the city had a population of 9,022 in 2000. The population was 10,539 residents as of the 2010 census. History 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 prevents 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. During a primary election in 2016 voters chose to disincorporate, shutting the City down and transferring assets to Clackamas County. The disincorporation vote was later nullified by a 2019 Appeal Court decision on May 1. 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 upheld State legislation that ratified the 2016 disincorporation vote. As a result, the City of Damascus was