Thurston County is letting everybody jump on this hay wagon — or trying to.
The county’s Planning Commission on Sept. 4 will hold a public hearing regarding the potential for the Agritourism Overlay District — a layer of zoning that eases certain planning restrictions and expenses on farms and some wineries and breweries — to be opened to a greater number of agricultural land owners.
Scott McCormick, a Thurston County associate planner, said the land within the boundary will be expanded by approximately 10 to 15 percent.
At the hearing, the commission also will recommend the definition of agritourism be widened to include art tourism, or the act of visiting a geographic region in order to visit, see and experience local art, art history, artists, craftspersons and culture.
“It’s a new definition that our management came up with to encourage people to come visit,” McCormick said. “There are a number of things you can do that aren’t directly agriculture-related, that could potentially draw people to the county.”
Eighteen months ago, the new Overlay District was put into effect because, at the time, zoning code did not specifically address agritourism, or tourism intended to attract visitors to a farm or ranch. The county wanted to ensure that there was clear authorization for agricultural landowners to pursue a broad range of agritourism activities, particularly those that would allow the landowners to earn additional income and for tourists to witness the importance of agricultural lands to the county’s economy and way of life, according to a 2013 project update.
Other benefits, McCormick said in the update, include preservation of farm culture, farm and open space conservation, local economic development, economic diversification, local food security, public education and on-site employment opportunities for farming families and rural residents
The Overlay District does not change the underlying zoning or density, nor does it add any new restrictions.
Since the district was implemented, the planning department has been collecting comments and critiques from the public. The most frequent response, the department said, came from landowners who wished to be included in the district.
“I don’t think we had any idea how it would turn out,” McCormick said. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised by all the interest people have shown in it.”
In addition to altering specific boundary lines, the planning commission has discussed adding all land zoned Long Term Agriculture land to the overlay district.
Doing so would add several outlying LTA zones that were not captured with the original ordinance, because of the initial focus on the southern county, in particular, Tenino, according to the Thurston Planning Department.
Now, farmers in the greater Tenino area, north of Waldrick Road SE, are among those hoping to have their land added.
Landowners there, who have a collective 600 acres, have expressed interest in participating in various agritourism activities, including a farm store or farm bakery.
The tract of land includes the Nelson Ranch, one of the longest operating cattle ranches in the county.
“The area proposed is bisected by the Deschutes River, which provides a valuable natural asset with the potential of drawing visitors,” the planning commission said in the update. “This change may help to keep this area in active agricultural production for many years to come, provide jobs and alternatives to future conversion of agricultural land.”
A Planning Commission briefing was held on Aug. 7 and the proposed amendments were discussed; the public is encouraged to attend and make comment at the Sept. 4 meeting.
“Our county commissioners are very driven to improve agriculture in the county,” McCormick said. “They’ve spent a lot of time and energy focus on this and they really want to encourage agriculture and make it more profitable and more successful.”
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Lisa Broadt: (360) 807-8237
