MONROE – Snohomish County is calculating how much it will cost to protect 363 acres of farmland south of Monroe from development.
The County Council will spend $24,500 appraising the land. When the appraisals get done in 2007, the county plans to buy the right to develop the land so it will stay as farmland or open space.
“It’s a good tool to conserve farmland from development pressure,” County Councilman John Koster said.
The county has secured more than $2.2 million to buy the development rights and is seeking additional grants for what is called the Purchase of Development Rights Program, county officials said.
“It’s a good start,” County Councilman Dave Somers said.
The county will purchase the development rights to the property – meaning the land must remain agricultural forever. Families can continue farming their land.
Seven families who own the acreage in the Tualco Valley have applied for the program. The 4,700-acre valley has fertile soil.
“It’s a smaller number than we expected,” Somers said. “I believe it will be a very popular program in the future.”
In December, the county began a similar program in the Stillaguamish Valley west of Arlington. The Transfer of Development Rights Program is driven by the housing market. The county asks developers to buy the right to develop farmland from farmers and transfer the right to build housing elsewhere. As a result, the program restricts future development on farmland.
Meanwhile, the program used for the Tualco Valley relies on government coffers and doesn’t call for housing development elsewhere.
“It’s a little cleaner, but it takes taxpayers’ money. That’s a downside,” Somers said.
Agricultural land in the county declined from 195,000 acres in 1945 to 69,000 acres in 2002. Of the remaining farmland, about 25,000 acres are not being farmed, according to the county.
“I really feel we need to preserve agriculture and farmland,” Somers said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
