Commissioners will let "voter's decide" fate of farmlands measure

Peninsula News Network

8/24/05

Clallam County, WA - Clallam County voters will get the opportunity to decide whether to impose a special tax on real estate sales to preserve farmland.

It was ten years ago voters rejected a more complicated idea for preserving agricultural lands, and in that decade hundreds more acres of the county have been converted to residential development, especially in the rapidly growing East End.

But under the new proposal approved for the ballot by county commissioners this week, voters will be asked to approve a .5% buyer’s excise tax, a tax that would be charged on real estate sales to raise money that could purchase development rights from owners of large farmland tracts, thereby preserving open space and farmable land.

The idea was supported by more than 4000 people who signed a petition and commissioners felt it was only right to go ahead and let voters decide the concept.

This proposal could generate up to $2-million per year, depending upon the pace of the real estate market. They money would buy actual farmland, but would purchase the development rights to the property, similar to the Conservation Futures Fund that helped preserve this farmland in Agnew earlier this year.

The real estate industry is already voicing some objections to the “BET” proposal. But Commissioner Mike Chapman believes having the proposal on the ballot will lead to “healthy debate”, letting county residents decide the merits of the program.

Commissioners did modify some of the provisions from the original Buyer’s Excise Tax proposal, reducing the amount of the tax from 1%, .5% and implementing a “sunset clause”. That means if the tax is approved in November, it would expire in 10 years unless the program is renewed by voters.