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<title>Alert</title>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Alert!<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Does the County want to confine farmers
to small houses or is that just cover for mandatory small houses in the next
Comp Plan?<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>CAPR requests your help at a public meeting in Issaquah this Thursday,
June 14!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>King County has laid out
its strategy for the GMA 2008 Comprehensive Plan update.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You remember that KC first down-zoned
rural landowners under the “Sensitive Areas” ordinance.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They then took 50-65% of our land under
the revised “Clearing and Grading” ordinance and further crippled the land with
extreme buffers under the “Critical Areas” ordinance.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Now they are claiming that rural lands are “Legacy Areas” which must be
protected to maintain their “rural character.”<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>This means that on their Sunday drives into the country they
want to see areas that look like farms, and everyone knows that farmers should
be poor and live in less than average size houses.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>The Council comp plan topics include several demeaning
items, among them “examine limits on home sizes in the agricultural areas.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Remember that the down-zoning process started out by promising to pay
farmers to give up their development rights under the Farmland Preservation
Program (FPP)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When they couldn’t
get enough takers, and/or got tired of paying, they mandated zoning to
accomplish the same thing with no compensation whatever.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The same strategy is now being followed
to limit home sizes.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>New FPP covenants have been drafted to begin their strategy.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Originally this was justified as
“keeping mansions off of farmland” and keeping farmland “affordable.”<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The language has now morphed into
preventing the building of any home larger than the median size, which is
currently 1,950 square feet!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The
plan is to promote a taxpayer-funded FPP bond issue, to buy additional
development rights with the 1,950 square foot limit.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>(If you read the attachment of the proposed Development
Rights, you will notice that the specific dwelling size is not specified, but
currently that number would be 1950 square feet and would go down over
time!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By the way, this is less
than 0.5% of the area of a 10-acre parcel.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The Agricultural Commission is being asked to “ratify” the new
covenants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In spite of objections
by several farmer commissioners to the absurd home size restriction, staff has
persisted in keeping it in the draft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</span>At the same time, staff has recommended loosening the farming
requirement to allow FPP land to simply be in “open space capable of being
farmed” rather than in actual agricultural production.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It would seem that the result will be
city dwellers flocking to subsidized low-income rural housing, instead of
farmers working their land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All
that remains is to furnish large plastic cows and sheep to “preserve the rural
character.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>The big problems actual farmers face are excessive regulations and high
taxes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Perhaps we need a
regulation that limits Council and Executive offices to the county median
office size, in the interest of keeping government and taxes affordable?<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Any other ideas?</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Public testimony will be taken at this Ag Commission meeting.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>June
14, 4:00 p.m.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><span style='mso-tab-count:1'> </span>Issaquah
fish hatchery (meeting room south of the main building)</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Please come and express your viewpoint, whatever it is.<span
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Commissioners, staff and other
county officials need to hear what you think!</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Jeff Wright</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Secretary, CAPR</span></font></p>
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