A practical planning tool
Published 12:01 am Sunday, February 13, 2011
In a perfect world, land-use decisions would be easy. Major residential development would go into existing urban areas, where appropriate transportation, wastewater and other infrastructure can best support it. Rural, agricultural and forest land would remain as it is, providing natural, aesthetic and economic benefits.
Alas, we live in the real world, where environmental priorities must co-exist with a variety of often conflicting economic forces and personal preferences. Laws governing land use must do the best they can to encourage the best decisions possible.
That’s why an unlikely coalition of environmentalists, developers and Snohomish County officials is asking the Legislature to authorize a new kind of development on about 2,000 rural acres north of Lake Goodwin.
County rules allow the McNaughton Group and Granite Land Co., which owns the land, to build about 620 homes there on relatively large lots, each with a septic system. The developers’ rights are vested; no legal mechanism can keep them from building.
What’s being proposed instead would allow the possibility of up to 1,600 residential units on smaller lots, separated into three “rural villages,” with a smaller overall footprint than is currently permitted. Rather than hundreds of septic tanks, the development would be served by its own state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant. A minimum of 70 percent of the area would be preserved as public-access open space.
That’s not all. Density beyond what’s currently allowed would have to be earned by purchasing development rights on existing rural, agricultural or forest land in Snohomish County. For each additional 1/8-acre lot, the developer would have to purchase a unit of development rights — which equals 5 acres of land zoned rural, 10 acres of agricultural or 40 acres of forest. The sale of such rights creates a conservation easement, guaranteeing the rural, farm or forest parcel is forever protected from development.
Such easements are the stock in trade of the Cascade Land Conservancy, which for 20 years has led efforts to protect 163,000 acres of forests, farms, shorelines, parks and natural areas in Snohomish, King, Pierce and Kittitas counties. The CLC is an enthusiastic backer of the proposed legislation, as are noted environmentalists Dave Somers, chairman of the Snohomish County Council, and Rep. Hans Dunshee (D-Snohomish), a prime sponsor.
Noting that the developer’s rights are vested under older, less stringent rural development codes, Somers sees this as an idea that can make a bad situation much better, while creating conservation benefits elsewhere in the county. It would require updates to county code and an extensive environmental review, processes that help ensure appropriate mitigation and include many opportunities for public input.
In an imperfect world, this practical idea offers solutions that are far better than what’s possible today. It’s a tool the county should have available.
