By Brian Mittge bmittge@chronline.com, Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Those who want to farm, mine or log will have a chance to "opt in" to county resource land rules under regulations approved by the Lewis County Commission Monday.
The vote was 2-1. Commission Chairman Eric Johnson voted no, saying he hadn't been able to read and digest new information from staff members, county attorneys and citizens that he had received just before the vote.
"I'm not quite ready yet," rural Centralia Democrat Johnson said before voting. The county commission's two Republicans voted yes; Johnson, the lone Democratic county elected official, said he might very well have voted for the changes as well, if he had been able to read all the information the commissioners had just received.
The rules are geared toward large chunks of high-value property: woodlands of 80 acres or more, farmland of 20 acres or more, and mineral resource lands starting at 10 acres.
Monday's county commission vote is the latest in a string of decisions to bring the county rules under the umbrella of the state's 1990 Growth Management Act. Last summer, the county's rules for rural areas were approved by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, but technically, the resource lands fall under a different part of the GMA. The hearings board has also taken issue with the county's resource lands rules; it will eventually consider whether the rules approved Monday pass muster.
In previous years, the county aggressively adopted rules that the state knocked down, eventually resulting in a state ruling that caused the county to halt most development permits for two years, ending last summer.
Johnson said he wanted to make sure the county can say that these are the best rules it can make, rather than taking the risk of more litigation.
"That hasn't been very successful for the county," he said.
Johnson said he has concerns about whether the agricultural lands were appropriately scoped out, and that the county has placed enough limits on non-conforming uses of resource lands.
The state reviews of the county plans in the past have typically been the "stumbling blocks," Johnson said. Commissioner Richard Graham said the rules are mainly "housekeeping" — fixing minor mistakes.
"I think the planning commission did an excellent job," said Graham.
The county planning commission has been mulling the resource land changes since last year, and listened to a variety of agricultural experts before making its decision.
Commissioner Dennis Hadaller said the planning commission did a good job, and that the county needs to move on the issue, even if it means potential problems with the state.
"Whether we pay now or pay later, I'd rather do what the people in Lewis County think is right, what the majority think," Hadaller said. "If we find we erred, we'll ... address it later." Eugene Butler, a former county attorney who has kept a close and wary eye on county land use rules, said the resource land rules are written so tightly that they exclude thousands of agricultural acres that don't have water rights.
The county proposal excludes 88 percent of agricultural land, Butler said, citing an agricultural census and Soil Conservation Service studies.
"The nature of agriculture is changing and different crops are being introduced that are not as dependent on water rights," Butler said, citing Christmas trees as an example.
County workers disagreed with Butler's figures, saying the county has designated about 50,000 acres of agricultural land, and more than half a million acres of the county as forest resource land.
Nothing in county law keeps smaller landowners from planting crops or trees, said County Planner Bob Johnson. The resource land rules are simply geared toward lands of long-term commercial significance.
Butler also took issue with parts of the plan that allow landowners to request that their resource land designation be changed after 10 years.
Neighbors of resource lands have restrictions on their properties — setbacks from where the resource use will occur — and so it isn't fair to make the resource land designation "temporary," Butler argued.
Butler was the only citizen to speak at the public hearing.
Before the vote, Johnson suggested a "non-regulatory incentive" to help landowners who want to opt in to the resource land program: canceling the $500 fee normally associated with a change to the county's comprehensive plan.
Brian Mittge covers politics, the environment and Lewis County government for The Chronicle. He may be reached by e-mail at bmittge@chronline.com, or by telephoning 807-8237.
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