Pierce County Farmland Protection Advances
A measure aimed at shielding 31,000 acres of farmland in Pierce County from sprawl cleared a County Council committee Wednesday but took criticism from farmers, environmentalists and developers.
The council's five-member Community Development Committee wrapped up weeks of examination and public testimony directed at the effectiveness of the county's land-use planning under Washington's landmark 1990 Growth Management Act.
The committee approved numerous changes to the county's land-use and transportation policies, including allowing urban villages in South Hill, limiting development in rural areas and requiring cities to meet a higher standard to justify expansions of their urban growth areas.
The full, seven-member council is scheduled to vote on the package of changes Nov. 9.
Perhaps the most controversial proposal is one that seeks to protect 31,000 acres of farmland in unincorporated Pierce County, including 3,000 acres n the Puyallup and Orting valleys.
The new policy would: n Create an "Agricultural Resource Lands" zone protecting 31,000 acres of farmland throughout unincorporated Pierce County. n Allow community planning boards, including one writing a land-use plan for the Alderton-McMillin area, to have more say in whether farmland is protected or earmarked for future growth. n Allow community planning boards, and the county and cities, to designate "reserve" growth areas on the edges of cities' urban growth boundaries where development might occur. n Allow farmers to build structures such as roadside stands, greenhouses and other retail operations to boost their business.
The farmland policy is not as restrictive as an earlier version, which did not emphasize community planning boards or allow "reserve" growth areas, among other things.
Monday, critics said the policy's language is full of holes.
Steve Burnham, an attorney for Investco Financial Corp., which manages Orton Farms LLC, a development company, urged the committee to rewrite part of the policy to give more power to community planning boards.
Council members said they couldn't cede their legal authority to have the final say over county land-use plans.
A local farmer, Dick Carkner of Terry's Berries in Tacoma, urged the committee to close what he believes are loopholes in the policy that will encourage cities to spread out rather than promote density within their current boundaries.
Carkner said allowing cities to designate "reserve" growth areas would allow them to expand into farmland and "reward sprawl with more sprawl."
In interviews after Monday's hearing, council members Calvin Goings (D-Puyallup), chairman of the Community Development Committee, and Kevin Wimsett (D-Spanaway) said the new policy is balanced.
That farmers, developers and environmentalists are criticizing it means "it's probably the right compromise," Goings said.
Added Wimsett: "It gives a little more flexibility to farmers while it still preserves most of the important farmland."
This article is republished courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune:
Farmland protection advances
