"Sec. 6   RCW 36.70A.177 and 2006 c 147 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) 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. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a county or city ((should)) shall encourage nonagricultural uses, including wetland mitigation banking projects, 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 and may allow accessory uses, including nonagricultural accessory uses and activities, that support, promote, or sustain agricultural operations and production, as provided in subsection (3) of this section;
     (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.
     (3) Accessory uses allowed under subsection (2)(a) of this section shall comply with the following:
     (a) Accessory uses shall be located, designed, and operated so as to not interfere with, and to support the continuation of, the overall agricultural use of the property and neighboring properties, and shall comply with the requirements of this chapter;
     (b) Accessory uses may include:
     (i) Agricultural accessory uses and activities, including but not limited to the storage, distribution, and marketing of regional agricultural products from one or more producers, agriculturally related experiences, or the production, marketing, and distribution of value-added agricultural products, including support services that facilitate these activities; and
     (ii) Nonagricultural accessory uses and activities as long as they are consistent with the size, scale, and intensity of the existing agricultural use of the property and the existing buildings on the site. Nonagricultural accessory uses and activities, including new buildings, parking, or supportive uses, shall not be located outside the general area already developed for buildings and residential uses and shall not otherwise convert more than one acre of agricultural land to nonagricultural uses; and
     (c) Counties and cities have the authority to limit or exclude accessory uses otherwise authorized in this subsection (3) in areas designated as agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance.
     (4)(a) Off-site wetland mitigation banking projects, as provided for in chapter 90.84 RCW, including but not limited to projects for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes, may be permitted by conditional or special use on agricultural lands, including agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance, if the local government has adopted criteria for evaluating and permitting such projects. The criteria shall reflect the priority expressed in this chapter for preserving agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance, without precluding the establishment of wetland mitigation bank sites on lands with poor soils or otherwise not suitable for agricultural purposes. The criteria shall minimize the impact on the continued agricultural use of high value agricultural lands of long-term commercial significance. Conservation projects that consist of exclusively planting vegetation or on-site mitigation projects required for permitted activities shall be allowed.
     (b) This subsection (4) shall not affect lands purchased or otherwise acquired before June 30, 2001, by a port district in whole or in part for use as a wetland mitigation bank.
     (5) This section shall not be interpreted to limit agricultural production on designated agricultural lands."