By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
Three Snohomish County farmers are the first beneficiaries of the "Right to Plow" initiative.
Just days after county initiative 01-02 became law, county officials said Tuesday they are dropping citations against three landowners for dirt-moving projects done without permits.
The decision offers a first glimpse at the sort of projects that will no longer need county permission, after voters exempted farmers from most grading permit requirements.
But supporters and opponents both say the measure’s wider impact won’t be known for months, after people become familiar with it and winter has passed.
The newly pardoned projects show the initiative extends beyond the plowing highlighted by the campaign’s name.
One involves a road-widening project within 50 yards of a salmon-bearing stream. Another is a dredging project in a ditch that some officials have labeled a stream. County planning officials weren’t able to provide details about the third violation.
County Councilman Gary Nelson said the canceled citations are evidence that farmers really were being hampered by regulations. Other farmers are relieved that they face less intrusion by the county, he said.
"That lifts a burden of doubt in their mind," he said.
County officials are also combing permit applications to see if people applied for permits even if they don’t need them.
County Councilman Dave Somers said he remains concerned the initiative invites abuse by people wanting to develop land and use agriculture as a shield.
"I’m not really worried about the true farmers," said Somers, who opposed the initiative. "I’m concerned about the people who want to abuse this."
Snohomish County Farm Bureau President John Postema, the initiative’s lead proponent, said the bureau is urging farmers to make sure their farm work is environmentally sound.
He was pleased by the county’s initial response to the initiative.
"I think they’re going to try to make it work," Postema said.
If abuses crop up, Nelson said the county council could amend the initiative. For example, it could drop the exemptions for some types of land near cities, he said. But the council can’t change the initiative for a year.
The measure exempts from grading permits activities including plowing, ditch digging and road building, as long as they are connected with "commercial agriculture."
The county has yet to draft guidelines about what will count as commercial agriculture. It will likely cover everything from equestrian arenas to dairies, said Scott White, the county planning department’s main liaison to farmers.
In one of the canceled cases, a farmer had an old dirt farm road widened from 8 to 16 feet, White said. The road runs down a steep slope beside Church Creek near Stanwood. County officials feared the construction created erosion problems near a stream where protected chinook salmon swim, and they cited the farmer for not getting a grading permit, White said.
Now, the county will drop the citation. While the violation happened before the initiative took effect, the usual remedy is to require a grading permit, White said. The initiative canceled that option.
The landowners whose citations were dropped could not be reached for comment.
The initiative would still require grading permits for projects that need other county permits, such as one for work in a flood plain. Also, state or federal agencies could still have regulations controlling projects such as digging in streams, White said.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to
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