AN ACT Relating to
timber and forest lands; and amending RCW 84.34.020 and 84.34.041.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 84.34.020 and 2001 c
249 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
As used in this
chapter, unless a different meaning is required by the context:
(1) "Open space
land" means (a) any land area so designated by an official comprehensive
land use plan adopted by any city or county and zoned accordingly, or (b) any
land area, the preservation of which in its present use would (i) conserve and
enhance natural or scenic resources, or (ii) protect streams or water supply,
or (iii) promote conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches or tidal marshes, or
(iv) enhance the value to the public of abutting or neighboring parks, forests,
wildlife preserves, nature reservations or sanctuaries or other open space, or
(v) enhance recreation opportunities, or (vi) preserve historic sites, or (vii)
preserve visual quality along highway, road, and street corridors or scenic
vistas, or (viii) retain in its natural state tracts of land not less than one
acre situated in an urban area and open to public use on such conditions as may
be reasonably required by the legislative body granting the open space
classification, or (c) any land meeting the definition of farm and agricultural
conservation land under subsection (8) of this section. As a condition of
granting open space classification, the legislative body may not require public
access on land classified under (b)(iii) of this subsection for the purpose of
promoting conservation of wetlands.
(2) "Farm and
agricultural land" means:
(a) Any parcel of land
that is twenty or more acres or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous
and total twenty or more acres:
(i) Devoted primarily
to the production of livestock or agricultural commodities for commercial
purposes;
(ii) Enrolled in the
federal conservation reserve program or its successor administered by the
United States department of agriculture; or
(iii) Other similar
commercial activities as may be established by rule;
(b) Any parcel of land
that is five acres or more but less than twenty acres devoted primarily to
agricultural uses, which has produced a gross income from agricultural uses
equivalent to, as of January 1, 1993:
(i) One hundred dollars
or more per acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the
date of application for classification under this chapter for all parcels of
land that are classified under this subsection or all parcels of land for which
an application for classification under this subsection is made with the
granting authority prior to January 1, 1993; and
(ii) On or after
January 1, 1993, two hundred dollars or more per acre per year for three of the
five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under
this chapter;
(c) Any parcel of land
of less than five acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses which has
produced a gross income as of January 1, 1993, of:
(i) One thousand
dollars or more per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the
date of application for classification under this chapter for all parcels of
land that are classified under this subsection or all parcels of land for which
an application for classification under this subsection is made with the
granting authority prior to January 1, 1993; and
(ii) On or after
January 1, 1993, fifteen hundred dollars or more per year for three of the five
calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under this
chapter.
Parcels of land described
in (b)(i) and (c)(i) of this subsection shall, upon any transfer of the
property excluding a transfer to a surviving spouse, be subject to the limits
of (b)(ii) and (c)(ii) of this subsection;
(d) Any lands including
incidental uses as are compatible with agricultural purposes, including
wetlands preservation, provided such incidental use does not exceed twenty
percent of the classified land and the land on which appurtenances necessary to
the production, preparation, or sale of the agricultural products exist in
conjunction with the lands producing such products. Agricultural lands shall
also include any parcel of land of one to five acres, which is not contiguous,
but which otherwise constitutes an integral part of farming operations being
conducted on land qualifying under this section as "farm and agricultural
lands"; or
(e) The land on which
housing for employees and the principal place of residence of the farm operator
or owner of land classified pursuant to (a) of this subsection is sited if:
The housing or residence is on or contiguous to the classified parcel; and the
use of the housing or the residence is integral to the use of the classified
land for agricultural purposes.
(3) "Timber
land" means any parcel of land that is five or more acres or multiple
parcels of land that are contiguous and total five or more acres which is or
are devoted primarily to the growth and harvest of timber for commercial
purposes. ((A timber management plan shall be filed with the county
legislative authority at the time (a) an application is made for classification
as timber land pursuant to this chapter or (b) when a sale or transfer of
timber land occurs and a notice of classification continuance is signed.))
Timber land means the land only.
(4) "Current"
or "currently" means as of the date on which property is to be listed
and valued by the assessor.
(5) "Owner"
means the party or parties having the fee interest in land, except that where
land is subject to real estate contract "owner" shall mean the
contract vendee.
(6)
"Contiguous" means land adjoining and touching other property held by
the same ownership. Land divided by a public road, but otherwise an integral
part of a farming operation, shall be considered contiguous.
(7) "Granting
authority" means the appropriate agency or official who acts on an
application for classification of land pursuant to this chapter.
(8) "Farm and
agricultural conservation land" means either:
(a) Land that was
previously classified under subsection (2) of this section, that no longer
meets the criteria of subsection (2) of this section, and that is reclassified
under subsection (1) of this section; or
(b) Land
that is traditional farmland that is not classified under chapter 84.33 or
84.34 RCW, that has not been irrevocably devoted to a use inconsistent with
agricultural uses, and that has a high potential for returning to commercial
agriculture.
Sec. 2. RCW 84.34.041 and 1992 c
69 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:
An application for
current use classification or reclassification under RCW 84.34.020(3)
shall be made to the county legislative authority.
(1) The application
shall be made upon forms prepared by the department of revenue and supplied by
the granting authority and shall include the following elements that
constitute a timber management plan:
(a) A legal description
of, or assessor's parcel numbers for, all land the applicant desires to be
classified as timber land;
(b) The date or dates
of acquisition of the land;
(c) A brief description
of the timber on the land, or if the timber has been harvested, the owner's
plan for restocking;
(d) Whether there is a
forest management plan for the land;
(e) If so, the nature
and extent of implementation of the plan;
(f) Whether the land is
used for grazing;
(g) Whether the land
has been subdivided or a plat filed with respect to the land;
(h) Whether the land
and the applicant are in compliance with the restocking, forest management,
fire protection, insect and disease control, weed control, and forest debris
provisions of Title 76 RCW or applicable rules under Title 76 RCW;
(i) Whether the land is
subject to forest fire protection assessments pursuant to RCW 76.04.610;
(j) Whether the land is
subject to a lease, option, or other right that permits it to be used for a
purpose other than growing and harvesting timber;
(k) A summary of the
past experience and activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
(l) A summary of
current and continuing activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting
timber;
(m) A statement that
the applicant is aware of the potential tax liability involved when the land
ceases to be classified as timber land.
(2) An application made
for classification of land under RCW 84.34.020(3) shall be acted upon after a
public hearing and after notice of the hearing is given by one publication in a
newspaper of general circulation in the area at least ten days before the
hearing. Application for classification of land in an incorporated area shall
be acted upon by a granting authority composed of three members of the county
legislative body and three members of the city legislative body in which the land
is located.
(3) The granting
authority shall act upon the application with due regard to all relevant
evidence and without any one or more items of evidence necessarily being
determinative, except that the application may be denied for one of the following
reasons, without regard to other items:
(a) The land does not
contain a stand of timber as defined in chapter 76.09 RCW and applicable rules,
except this reason shall not alone be sufficient to deny the application (i) if
the land has been recently harvested or supports a growth of brush or
noncommercial type timber, and the application includes a plan for restocking
within three years or the longer period necessitated by unavailability of seed
or ((seedings [seedlings])) seedlings, or (ii) if only isolated
areas within the land do not meet minimum standards due to rock outcroppings,
swamps, unproductive soil, or other natural conditions;
(b) The applicant, with
respect to the land, has failed to comply with a final administrative or
judicial order with respect to a violation of the restocking, forest
management, fire protection, insect and disease control, weed control, and
forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or applicable rules under Title 76
RCW;
(c) The land abuts a
body of salt water and lies between the line of ordinary high tide and a line
paralleling the ordinary high tide line and two hundred feet horizontally
landward from the high tide line.
(4) The timber
management plan must be filed with the county legislative authority either:
(a) When an application for classification under this chapter is submitted; (b)
when a sale or transfer of timber land occurs and a notice of continuance is
signed; or (c) within sixty days of the date the application for
reclassification under this chapter or from designated forest land is
received. The application for reclassification shall be accepted, but shall
not be processed until the timber management plan is received. If the timber
management plan is not received within sixty days of the date the application
for reclassification is received, the application for reclassification shall be
denied.
If circumstances
require it, the county assessor may allow in writing an extension of time for
submitting a timber management plan when an application for classification or
reclassification or notice of continuance is filed. When the assessor approves
an extension of time for filing the timber management plan, the county
legislative authority may delay processing an application until the timber
management plan is received. If the timber management plan is not received by
the date set by the assessor, the application or the notice of continuance
shall be denied.
The granting authority
may approve the application with respect to only part of the land that is described
in the application, and if any part of the application is denied, the applicant
may withdraw the entire application. The granting authority, in approving in
part or whole an application for land classified pursuant to RCW 84.34.020(3),
may also require that certain conditions be met.
Granting or denial of
an application for current use classification is a legislative determination
and shall be reviewable only for arbitrary and capricious actions. The
granting authority may not require the granting of easements for land
classified pursuant to RCW 84.34.020(3).
The
granting authority shall approve or disapprove an application made under this
section within six months following the date the application is received.
