Saving farms may aid cities
Under a county plan, cities would reward developers for buying building rights from farmers.
EVERETT - A program to preserve rural Snohomish County farmland might lead to taller buildings and more retail shops per block in Everett and other cities.
County and city of Everett officials are working to design a kind of commodities market to let developers buy up and use building rights from farmers.
If the program works, cities would reward developers with taller buildings or bigger shops and offices if they first buy building rights from farmers. Through the program, the county might also allow more building at future urban centers along I-5.
The move would forever preserve farmland - up to 63,000 acres - and focus greater development in cities, they said.
"The market conditions in Everett are ideal for this type of program," county planner Tom Niemann said.
Downtown Everett will continue to grow as the county's metropolitan center for 20 years, with more condos, shops and offices, Everett planning director Allan Giffen said.
A transfer program is a natural fit with Everett's downtown plan, he said.
"Anything we can do that has the double benefit both to farmland and our downtown revitalization is a good thing to explore," he said. "We think there's a lot of potential here."
Everett commercial developer Art Skotdal is skeptical. It won't matter how many development swaps are made with farmers if there aren't enough tenants or high enough rental rates, he said.
"It sounds like a good system, but supply and demand is going to dictate whether anything gets built," said Skotdal, who has $60 million in downtown Everett holdings and 40 years in the business.
"There isn't anything being built right now. Why buy rights?"
A $100,000 state grant is paying for an analysis of how a program would work and how to motivate developers. A program is due to the state in June.
"We want to create something that will be attractive to the development community and also workable for farmers," Giffen said.
Everett revised its downtown plan this summer and opened the possibility of a program like this one that could benefit farmers, historic properties or wetlands.
Continue reading this article from The Herald (Everett):
Saving farms may aid cities
