Snohomish moves ahead with deal to preserve rural land

Published 10:09 pm Wednesday, February 11, 2009

SNOHOMISH — The city is moving forward with a program that could preserve rural land and put more high-density development in town.

The City Council voted to work with a conservation group on a demonstration project that would move development rights from a rural piece of land to the city.

Here’s how it works: The nonprofit Cascade Land Conservancy would buy the development rights on several acres of land in the county.

No one can develop that land. The rights to develop and build are transferred to Snohomish, which agrees to allow a developer to buy them and build a mixed-use project within city limits.

A similar program in Arlington stalled after no one wanted to buy the rights. Snohomish County officials bought 49 certificates for development for houses from a Stillaguamish Valley farmer for $2.1 million two years ago. In exchange, the farmer agreed not to develop his land. The county was supposed to act as a middleman, reselling the right to build on 337 acres east of Arlington. The county found no buyers.

Unlike that project, Cascade is bearing the risk of buying and holding the development rights.

The city remains in control of land-use decisions such as the height of buildings. It also gets a $150,000 state grant to study the impact of a mixed-use development, said Owen Dennison, a senior planner for the city. That grant likely will cover most of the study.

“It should get us most of the way there,” he said.

The only councilman to oppose moving forward was R.C. “Swede” Johnson, who told the other members he opposes the process on philosophical grounds.

He called the project “balloons in the air” idealism. Even though the city isn’t paying for the rural land, he opposes the idea of spending an “exorbitant” amount of taxpayer money.

He supports conservation, but not this method, and he’s concerned the city could get stuck paying consultants.

“You can’t keep spending money to buy rights for something,” he said. “The city is sitting there with its hand out and its tongue down to their knees for a grant that will only get the city halfway through the project.”

Councilwoman Karen Guzak said the program presents little risk to the city and is an opportunity to save forested land, something that benefits everyone.

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.