Land use and zoning issues are often contentious, yet the crowd that gathered last Thursday evening at the Lyle High School multi-purpose room to discuss the "Farmland Preservation Zone" was the picture of respectful behavior.
The Oct. 9 meeting was designed to ensure that the interests and concerns of local residents would be factored in to any zoning proposal.
The event, organized by four High Prairie citizens and sponsored by the High Prairie Community Council, attracted about 50 residents.
"We organized the meeting to give everyone in the community the opportunity to share their concerns, to answer questions, to provide new information, and to establish ways to get the rest of our concerns addressed," explained Gwen Berry, one of the organizers of the Lyle meeting. "This is a draft proposal only, and your feedback will modify the outcome."
Berry said the High Prairie area was facing several stresses.
"There are pressures from a growing regional population, and we're seeing an influx of residents from urban settings," Berry explained. "Land being subdivided is another issue, and there is disagreement about what defines rural character. We need to think about what we want High Prairie to be like and what's important to us."
Berry said she got involved in the issue because she saw the controversy about possible zoning changes beginning to divide her community.
"It created so much dissension that I decided to do something," she said. "The farm property being used as the example in publicizing the proposal sits square in the middle of High Prairie, and the proposal has provided a lot of deep-seated feelings about development and land use in our community. The community has been seriously divided by this issue."
For that reason, Berry was among a group of four citizens -- Berry, Jake Jakabosky, Peg McMullin, and Jeff McMullin. -- who set up the meeting.
Not surprisingly, one question -- about water availability -- was by far the top concern. The question was: "Are the water aquifers of High Prairie adequate to support proposed development?"
"Water is a real issue not just for this proposal, but for development of any kind," Berry said.
An organization known as the American Farmland Trust (AFT) is guiding the farmland preservation process in Klickitat County. AFT plans a series of meetings at sites around the county over the next few weeks.
American Farmland Trust is a Washington, D.C.-based organization "committed to protecting the nation's best farm and ranch land and improving the economic viability of agriculture." The AFT Web site reports that the United States is losing 1.2 million acres of farmland every year, and much of it is highly productive farmland.
Klickitat County was recently given a $25,000 grant from the state to study farmland preservation issues. The county subsequently hired AFT to do a study of tools to preserve farmland within the county.
Don Stewart, director of AFT's Pacific Northwest Region, which covers Washington-Oregon-Idaho, said Klickitat County is facing serious pressures that are reducing the amount of viable farmland.
"When I first took this job nine years ago, I looked around the state and figured out which counties were critically important, and Klickitat County was definitely one that leapt up the list," Stewart said. "It is an incredibly interesting and lovely county. It has a lot of ag and a lot of traditional ag, and it's under pressure."
Stewart pointed out that development is fragmenting farmland in Klickitat County.
"Land is being lost from agriculture, and that tends to fragment the ag land base. When a farmer is looking for several hundred or several thousand acres, it's tougher to find contiguous land," Stewart explained. "And the market value of the land is driven up by non-ag uses. The price gets above what farmers can afford."
County Commissioner David Sauter attended the Lyle meeting and promised that the county would go slow in its decision-making process.
"Farmland preservation is an extremely important issue to the county, and it's a very touchy subject," Sauter explained.
Sauter reminded residents that the draft zoning plan before them was simply a proposal and was a long way from being decided on one way or another.
"The information we gather will be sent off to American Farmland Trust, and they will be coming to the county for six public meetings," Sauter said. "We want to know what are your ideas and concerns about preserving farmlands."
Sauter explained that a report will come to the Klickitat County Commissioners in December.
"We'll decide then if we need further study at that point. We'll again take public input and choose to move forward or not," he said. "When we get this report, we'll decide what we'll do next. And one of our options is none of the above."
Sauter added that if the county moved ahead with a farmland preservation zone, it would probably be an 18-month process to develop a plan.
"The Planning Commission will review and vet the proposal, and there will be lots of opportunity for input. Nothing is going to happen quickly and there will be ample opportunity for public comment," Sauter pledged. "Any rezoning is a public process. The bar is pretty high for a rezone. We have a strong tradition of local planning because we believe planning is best done on the local level."
High Prairie resident Bob Edwards asked who decides what is or is not considered viable farmland.
"Even the deer have given up on my property, and weeds won't even grow," Edwards questioned. "And if that is so, how can you consider my property to be farmland?"
Jacob Anderson, who has taken a leading role as an architect of a proposed farmland preservation zoning plan for Klickitat County, wanted to know if there would be any loopholes for developers to subvert the intent of any new zoning.
After the meeting, Berry said she thought the session was very productive.
"I thought it went really well," Berry said. "One objective was to set the tone for the discussion in more of a fact-finding mode rather than a finger-pointing mode. And we were really successful at that. Although there has been some negative impact on the community, in the long run it will be good. It is challenging us to look at what we want for High Prairie."
Myrin Bentz, president of the High Prairie Community Council, also thought the Lyle event was beneficial.
"I thought it was a very good meeting," Bentz said. "There was ample time for people to express concerns and ask questions, and Peg (McMullin) did a great job of moderating. They will do everything they can to get specific answers to those questions. I expect they will bring the answers to those questions to the next Community Council meeting."
The next meeting of the High Prairie Community Council is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Taylor Church on Centerville Highway. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Bentz said citizens would form a study group and pursue answers to all the questions raised at the Oct. 9 meeting. "At every meeting, some attention will be given to this issue, starting on the Oct. 23 meeting," Bentz said.
Bentz added that he hoped the community could avoid divisions as it considered rezoning proposals.
"It has not been divisive in the sense of driving big wedges in relationships, but it has generated quite a bit of interest. Generally I think it's been respectful and orderly," Bentz said.
A series of six upcoming public meetings will be geared to hear from the public about how communities can best protect farm and ranch lands and keep them available for agriculture.
All the meetings will start at 6:30 p.m. Dates and locations are as follows:
Centerville Grange, 2288 Centerville Highway, Centerville; Tuesday, Oct. 21, and Tuesday, Nov. 18;
Mountain View Grange, 1085 Main St., White Salmon; Wednesday, Oct. 22, and Wednesday, Nov. 19;
Alder Creek Grange, Main Street, Bickleton; Thursday, Oct. 23, and Thursday, Nov. 20.
"I hope the ag community gets involved. They are directly affected," Stewart said. "We can't do anything to help ag unless they want it done."
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