Title: Farmland Preservation in Thurston County
1Farmland Preservationin Thurston County
- Angela Olinghouse
- Ecological Agriculture
- Fall 2003
2Where will we have farms in the future?
- In the next 20 years Thurston Countys population
is expected to increase by 100,000 people - Current population 214,800 people
- Projected demand for rural County land between
2000-2015 is 35,643 acres
3The Farm housing development was a farm once
4(No Transcript)
5Loss of Farmland in Thurston County
- Between 1985-2000 Thurston County lost 9,200
acres of farmland - 56,300 acres in Thurston County are used for
agriculture - 16 of Thurston Countys land is used for
agriculture
61700 acre Alpacas of America in Tenino 800
houses?
www.alpaca1.com
7Growth Management Act
- Washington adopted a Growth Management Act in
1990 - Between 1992-1997 the state lost 45,800 acres of
prime farmland
8Government Farmland Protection Programs
- Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements
- Agricultural Protection Zoning
- Differential Assessment Laws
- Right-to-Farm Laws
- Transfer of Development Rights
9Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements
- When conservation easements are sold to a
government agency or private conservation group,
the potential to develop is removed - First one in the U.S. Was in New York in 1974
- The first in Washington was in King County in
1979. It protected more than 12,000 acres for
50 million - Local and state programs have purchased
development rights for 1.06 million acres
10- Thurston County bought its first easement in 1998
and has purchased 19 easements that cover 940
acres in the Nisqually Valley at a cost of 2.3
million - The program is expensive so if often cant be
used to take development pressure away from an
area
11Agricultural Protection Zoning
- Discourages non-agricultural activity
- In 1995 Thurston County lowered the zoning
density from one dwelling per 5 acres to one
dwelling per 20 or 40 acres on 25 of County
farmland - Not permanent
12Planned Rural Residential Developments
- Alternative subdivisions allowed in Thurston
Countys long-term agriculture district and the
Nisqually agriculture district to maintain rural
character - Clustered houses on part of the property, while
60-90 can be used for agriculture - Encourages sprawl
13Differential Assessment
- Open Space Tax Act of 1970
- Properties are taxed based on their current use,
not potential for residential or commercial
development - One purpose is to be an incentive to keep farms
in productive use - Thurston County has 38,078 acres enrolled in the
program - Property tax reductions range from 50-90
14Right to Farm Laws
- Protects farmers from getting sued by neighbors
- Has protected Ostroms mushroom farm in Lacey
15Transfer of Development Rights
- Transfers the right to develop one parcel of land
to another parcel - Shifts development of agricultural lands to urban
areas - Has mostly been used in the Northeast
- Montgomery County, Maryland has protected over
40,000 acres - Thurston Countys program has not protected any
land yet
16Thurston County Transfer of Development Rights
Program
- Began in 1995
- Sending area- 11,500 acres in the long-term
agricultural zone - Receiving area-20,000 acres of land in Olympia,
Lacey and Tumwater - Landowners can sell one development right per 5
acres - Two landowners have created development rights
but no one has bought them yet
17Land Trusts
- The United States first land trust in Marin
County, CA and has protected 33,000 acres - There are 1,200 non-profit land trusts in the
United States - Nearly 6.5 million acres have been protected by
land trusts
18Thurston County Land Trusts
- Nisqually River Basin Land Trust has preserved
over 650 acres of land - Capitol Land Trust has preserved over 900 acres
of land but has not protected commercial farms - South of the Sound Community Farm Trust has not
preserved any land
19Conclusion
- Thurston County has money for farmland
preservation in a conservation futures levy but
they are not actively seeking land to protect. An
active farmland trust should work with the County
to use some of that money to actually protect
farmland for the future. - There is more pressure to develop than to
preserve, more public education and support of
preservation is needed
20Farm For Sale! (or future housing development?)