Three Lakes

A blog for members and friends of Three Lakes Neighbors for Responsible Growth, dedicated to monitoring and maintaining the rural environment of central Snohomish County, Washington

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

The Seattle Times: Snohomish County News: Program preserves farmland

The Seattle Times: Snohomish County News: Program preserves farmland: "Chet Hoberg's 40 acres of corn were just a few permits away from becoming a subdivision when Snohomish County government stepped in.

Hoberg had never farmed the fields, leaving that to the people who leased his land. He bought the land as an investment in 1971, and after his wife's death in 2003, he felt it was time to cash in.

His situation turned out to be the catalyst Snohomish County needed to pull together a purchase-of-development-rights program that had been in the works for several years. Hoberg's property was zoned for 5-acre residential lots.

Yesterday, County Executive Aaron Reardon delivered a check for more than $500,000 to Hoberg. The county didn't buy the land — it bought the right to develop the land. Now Hoberg's farm must be used only for agriculture, ensuring at least 40 acres of green in Tualco Valley, near Monroe, as long as farmers are willing to farm it."

This is a program that might be usable in our area to help preserve our agricultural land and green space buffers. It won't do much good in our current rural cluster fight, since the land for PLR is not agricultural land. However, when they come after the blueberry farm . . .

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