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.
