[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to land use flexibility for family farms owned or operated by senior citizens; amending RCW 36.70A.177; adding a new section to chapter 36.70A RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that some family farms in Washington are experiencing extreme economic distress. Numerous factors have contributed to the economic decline of some family farms, including substantially reduced crop prices, increasing foreign competition, the consolidation of farm lands and the impacts of farm corporations, encroachment of residential and other land uses within family farm areas, and the increasing age of many family farm owners and operators. In addition, the relatively small acreage of many family farms impedes their ability to effectively compete in the modern agricultural environment and to remain economically viable.

(2) The legislature also finds that many family farms are owned and operated by families that have devoted their lives to producing quality agricultural products within the state of Washington. Many farm families have invested significant time, effort, and financial resources into establishing and maintaining productive farms. The primary source of retirement income for some farm families is the land on which the family farm is operated. The economic decline of some family farms, especially those with owners and operators who are senior citizens, has created an economic crisis for some families that operate them.

(3) The legislature also finds that the growth management act's requirements related to agricultural lands have substantially limited options to respond to the economic decline of some family farms. The growth management act provides for comprehensive planning at the local government level to guide the appropriate uses of land in consideration of local circumstances. However, the growth management act's requirements for local governments to designate agricultural lands and provisions regarding zoning for agricultural lands has effectively precluded land uses other than agriculture, even when agriculture is not economically viable.

(4) The legislature further finds that although it includes goals regarding encouraging economic development throughout the state of Washington and protecting private property rights, the growth management act's requirements regarding agricultural lands do not effectively incorporate these goals. The agricultural lands designation and zoning provisions do not allow other uses of family farm land, thereby prohibiting local governments from effectively responding to the economic plight of some family farm owners and operators.

(5) The legislature intends with this act to authorize local governments to afford some land use flexibility to those family farm owners and operators experiencing significant economic distress. The legislature also intends to authorize this flexibility for a limited period to allow a sufficient response time for these farm families while still preserving for the long term the planning and zoning systems established for agricultural lands under the growth management act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 36.70A RCW to read as follows:

(1) Notwithstanding other requirements of this chapter, a local government may authorize by ordinance rezones of agricultural lands on which family farms are operated based upon the findings required by subsection (2) of this section. A local ordinance authorizing rezones of agricultural lands may provide for densities on agricultural lands within the same ranges and consistent with the standards established for rural development as provided in RCW 36.70A.070(5)(b).

(2) An ordinance authorized under subsection (1) of this section may allow a rezone of agricultural lands on which a family farm is operated only if the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The farming activity on the agricultural land meets the definition of family farm in subsection (3) of this section;

(b) The land on which the family farm is operated is owned by an individual, family, or family-controlled business entity that owned and occupied the land prior to:

(i) July 1, 1990, in a county that was initially required to plan under all of the provisions of this chapter;

(ii) The date the county adopted a resolution under RCW 36.70A.040(2), in a county that is planning under all of the provisions of this chapter under RCW 36.70A.040(2); or

(iii) The date the office of financial management certifies the county's population as provided in RCW 36.70A.040(5), in a county that is planning under all of the provisions of this chapter pursuant to RCW 36.70A.040(5);

(d) The family farm has experienced significant economic distress as a result of economic decline within the agricultural industry; and

(e) The owner or operator of the family farm has demonstrated that continued operation of the family farm would constitute an economic hardship for the individual, family, or family-controlled business entity.

(3) For the purposes of this section, "family farm" means a farm of one hundred or fewer acres that is owned and operated by an individual, family, or family-controlled business entity from which the resulting agricultural products are not produced for the primary consumption or use by the farm owner or farm owner's family.

Sec. 3. RCW 36.70A.177 and 1997 c 429 s 23 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to section 2 of this act, a county or a city may use a variety of innovative zoning techniques in areas designated as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance under RCW 36.70A.170. The innovative zoning techniques should be designed to conserve agricultural lands and encourage the agricultural economy. A county or city should encourage nonagricultural uses to be limited to lands with poor soils or otherwise not suitable for agricultural purposes.

(2) Innovative zoning techniques a county or city may consider include, but are not limited to:

(a) Agricultural zoning, which limits the density of development and restricts or prohibits nonfarm uses of agricultural land;

(b) Cluster zoning, which allows new development on one portion of the land, leaving the remainder in agricultural or open space uses;

(c) Large lot zoning, which establishes as a minimum lot size the amount of land necessary to achieve a successful farming practice;

(d) Quarter/quarter zoning, which permits one residential dwelling on a one-acre minimum lot for each one-sixteenth of a section of land; and

(e) Sliding scale zoning, which allows the number of lots for single-family residential purposes with a minimum lot size of one acre to increase inversely as the size of the total acreage increases.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 and 2 of this act expire July 1, 2006.