Washington - SAN JUAN COUNTY
Countywide program - Formed in 1990 - researched by Don Stuart and Al Sokolow

OVERVIEW - Located at the northwestern corner of the State of Washington, San Juan is a county of four major islands and many smaller ones to the north of the Juan de Fuca Strait that connects Puget Sound with the Pacific Ocean. It is the smallest county in the state in area, with less than 175 square miles, and one of the smallest in population. Relatively isolated-Seattle is an hour and a half away by ferry-San Juan is a destination for retirement and recreation seekers. Protecting farmland is one of several preservation purposes of the county government's Citizens Conservation Land Bank, that also include lands of scenic, natural resource, recreational and historic values. Both easements and fee purchase properties are acquired by the Land Bank, using only local funds including a voter approved property transfer tax. The Land Bank actively seeks citizen views through public forums and other vehicles.

EASEMENT ACTIVITY - 1,027 agricultural acres on nine parcels, primarily used for cattle and sheep grazing. The total for all preservation purposes is about 1,700 easement acres on 26 parcels. Farm easements, at an average of 114 acres, are larger than other easements, many of which are valued for their shoreline frontage. Fee purchased properties total 950 acres in 26 parcels. Some are agricultural properties-the program's intention is to sell these to farm operators with easements on them.
Goals: No specific program goals.
Other Easement Programs: In addition to the county's Farmland Legacy Program, the San Juan Preservation Trust, established in the 1970s and operating in three counties, also acquires easements on agricultural lands, although generally for visual and natural resource use. An estimated 800 easement acres acquired by the trust in San Juan County are in active agricultural use.
Total Agricultural Easements in County: Approximately 1,800 acres.

FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $1.8 million on agricultural easements-$2.6 million for all easements. Agricultural easement costs have averaged about $1,800 per acre. The bulk of the program's funds-$16 million-has been spent on fee purchases at an average cost of about $16,800 per acre.
Revenues: Relying exclusively on local funds, the program has two major revenue sources: (1) a 1 percent real estate excise tax (a property transfer tax) which generates about $1.7 million annually; and (2) a local option property tax, allowed by state law as the "Conservation Futures" tax, which produces about $200,000 a year. Voters, by almost a 60 percent majority, approved the 1 percent tax for 12 years in 1990 at the start of the program, renewing it in 1990 by a 73 percent majority for a second 12-year period. Eight easements have been acquired through landowner donations.
Other Arrangements: A first-time bond issue of $5 million was approved by the Board of County Commissioners in the fall of 2002 to accelerate the pace of acquisitions. 25 percent of projected annual revenues from the dedicated taxes are committed to retire the bonds.

GOVERNANCE - Oversight of the program is in the hands of the citizens Land Bank Commission composed of seven members appointed for four-year terms by the elected County Board of Commissioners. Members represent the four main islands. The program's staff is a separate unit within county government and reports to the elected board.

STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - Three staff members-Executive Director, Land Steward and Program Assistant. The annual operating budget is about $170,000.

ORIGINS - Rapid new home construction in the late 1980s stimulated citizen interest in additional land conservation measures, especially the possibility of securing a public source of funds to complement the work of the nonprofit San Juan Preservation Trust. Several persons traveled to the east to investigate easement programs in that region. The Land Bank program was formed in 1990 when San Juan voters approved the County Board-initiated measure to adopt the 1 percent real estate excise tax. Also during this period, the county government conducted a visual preference survey of residents that resulted in the adoption of the Open Space and Conservation Plan. The first easement was acquired in 1993.

ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - The Land Bank Commission annually prepares an Expenditure and Acquisition Plan that designates parcels for easement or fee purchase. Final approval is given by the elected county board. Landowners are invited to submit applications in the annual process. Preparation of the plan involves a public hearing and other efforts to obtain citizen comments about specific acquisitions. Based on the use of general qualitative criteria (see below), the county has considerable discretion in selecting parcels for acquisition. Some geographical targeting occurs because of the ordinance requirement that expenditures be related to funding sources; this results in locating the largest share of acquisitions on San Juan Island, the part of the county with the most real estate activity.
Rating of Parcels: Not quantitative, see below.
Other Criteria: Five factors are specified in the program's ordinance: (1) important conservation resource; (2) parcel vulnerable to adverse change; (3) adequate protection of the identified resource; (4) effective use of limited funds; and (5) general public support.

CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES - The Land Bank program is seen by county officials as a component of their growth management strategy, especially through the Open Space and Conservation element of the Comprehensive Plan that identifies landscape areas worthy of preservation.
Zoning: Residential densities in Agricultural Resource Districts range from one unit to 10 acres (1:10) to 1:40.

DEMOGRAPHICS
2000 Population: 14,077
1990-2000 Population Change: +4,042 residents; +40 percent

AGRICULTURAL LAND
16,887 acres: 68 percent cropland
Conversion to Urban Use: Comparative conversion data not available.

OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: $2.6 million Number of Farms: 174
Principal Commodities: Livestock products, cattle, nursery and greenhouse crops

MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY (Map not available)
Easements and fee owned parcels are located on the four major islands in a generally dispersed pattern. Some concentrations of agricultural easements and fee owned lands are located in the San Juan Valley on San Juan Island and Crow Valley on Orcas Island.

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