Washington Administrative Code › Title 365 - Commerce, Department of (Community Development) › Chapter 365-190 - Minimum guidelines to classify agriculture, forest, mineral lands and critical areas › Part THREE - GUIDELINES › Section 365-190-050 - Agricultural resource lands

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) In
						classifying and designating agricultural resource lands, counties must approach
						the effort as a county-wide or area-wide process. Counties and cities should
						not review resource lands designations solely on a parcel-by-parcel process.
						Counties and cities must have a program for the transfer or purchase of
						development rights prior to designating agricultural resource lands in urban
						growth areas. Cities are encouraged to coordinate their agricultural resource
						lands designations with their county and any adjacent jurisdictions.
(2) Once lands are designated, counties and
						cities planning under the act must adopt development regulations that assure
						the conservation of agricultural resource lands. Recommendations for those
						regulations are found in WAC
						365-196-815.
(3) Lands should be considered for
						designation as agricultural resource lands based on three factors:
(a) The land is not already characterized by
						urban growth. To evaluate this factor, counties and cities should use the
						criteria contained in WAC
						365-196-310.
(b) The land is used or capable of being used
						for agricultural production. This factor evaluates whether lands are well
						suited to agricultural use based primarily on their physical and geographic
						characteristics. Some agricultural operations are less dependent on soil
						quality than others, including some livestock production operations.
(i) Lands that are currently used for
						agricultural production and lands that are capable of such use must be
						evaluated for designation. The intent of a landowner to use land for
						agriculture or to cease such use is not the controlling factor in determining
						if land is used or capable of being used for agricultural production. Land
						enrolled in federal conservation reserve programs is recommended for
						designation based on previous agricultural use, management requirements, and
						potential for reuse as agricultural land.
(ii) In determining whether lands are used or
						capable of being used for agricultural production, counties and cities shall
						use the land-capability classification system of the United States Department
						of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service as defined in relevant
						Field Office Technical Guides. These eight classes are incorporated by the
						United States Department of Agriculture into map units described in published
						soil surveys, and are based on the growing capacity, productivity and soil
						composition of the land.
(c) The land has long-term commercial
						significance for agriculture. In determining this factor, counties and cities
						should consider the following nonexclusive criteria, as applicable:
(i) The classification of prime and unique
						farmland soils as mapped by the Natural Resources Conservation
						Service;
(ii) The availability of
						public facilities, including roads used in transporting agricultural
						products;
(iii) Tax status,
						including whether lands are enrolled under the current use tax assessment under
						chapter
						84.34 RCW and whether the
						optional public benefit rating system is used locally, and whether there is the
						ability to purchase or transfer land development rights;
(iv) The availability of public
						services;
(v) Relationship or
						proximity to urban growth areas;
(vi) Predominant parcel size;
(vii) Land use settlement patterns and their
						compatibility with agricultural practices;
(viii) Intensity of nearby land
						uses;
(ix) History of land
						development permits issued nearby;
(x) Land values under alternative uses;
						and
(xi) Proximity to
						markets.