ROCHESTER — Thurston County's proposal to rezone rural land for long-term agriculture represents a "taking" without any compensation, angry residents said this week.

 

"This proposed action is in fact 'taking' the potential fruits of long-term investments right out of folks' retirement, medical emergencies or their heirs' educational funds," Ken Miller of Olympia said.

Miller, past president of the state and local chapters of the Washington Farm Forestry Association, was one of about 50 residents at a public hearing at Swedes Hall before the Thurston County Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission is considering a proposal to rezone 96 parcels in rural Thurston County if it can be determined that the land could support agriculture in the future. Previously, the county only used that zoning if the land was currently being farmed.

The plan, part of the county's court-ordered compliance with the state Growth Management Act, would change the zoning on those parcels from one home per 5 acres to one home per 20 acres or one home per 40 acres.

"If you guys do this to us, you will kill us," said Fremon Seay Sr. of Yelm, who is in the process of buying a 40-acre tract east of Yelm near the Nisqually River. Seay's new land, zoned for one home per 5 acres, would be rezoned to one home per 40 acres under the county's proposal.

Seay, Miller and others said the proposal was flawed in that it included land that was obviously not designed for farming.

"They've included properties in the Yelm area that are very unsuitable for agriculture," Zachary Smith of Yelm said. "They're up on a bluff, high above the river, and there are no alluvial soils."

The county is proposing the rezoning as amendments to its comprehensive plan. The proposed amendments are a response to a ruling last year by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board in which the growth board ordered the county to designate more agricultural land. That was based on the county's prior action to designate land for long-term agriculture if it can be shown that the land could support future farming.