Rural lots could shrink under county plan

Tom Mielke, Clark County commissioner

Marc Boldt, Clark County commissioner

Many of the rolling hills north of the East Fork of the Lewis River might be opened to denser rural development under a plan tentatively backed by two county commissioners Wednesday.

Hundreds of lots now required to have at least 10 or 20 acres would see their minimum size cut to 5 acres if the proposal goes through, which might not be until the end of 2010.

The proposal, being discussed as part of the county's ongoing effort to overhaul rural zoning, sets up one of the next skirmishes in the decades-long war between those who say north county landowners should have the right to subdivide and those who call the 5-acre lots "sprawl."

"It'll be quasi-urban development," said Bob Burns, a large-parcel tree farmer who lives outside Vancouver. "If you break it into fives, you're going to start getting houses all over Clark County."

Most of the land now zoned for 10 and 20-acre homesteads lies east of La Center, near the North Fork of the Lewis River, and in a broad expanse of land between Amboy and Yacolt. A few other areas are scattered around the northern half of the county.

Breaking that land into smaller lots would boost the housing supply, said David Halme, a Battle Ground forestry consultant.

"The prices for 5-acre buildable lots are so high that it's beyond the reach of all but the upper middle class," Halme said. "There are plenty of folks who would strongly desire to live on a rural lot with a garden, have a horse, but they've been priced out of the market."

The plan reflects a rightward shift in Clark County's government after Republican Tom Mielke's narrow victory in last November's election.

Even before Mielke took office last month, a county task force of rural residents, including Halme, had been calling for more subdivision rights. But the task force recommended smaller lots in agricultural zones and near rural centers, not residential zones.

"I don't remember us talking about everything going down to 5 acres," said Sharon Bussler of La Center, a task force member who said she has "severe reservations" about the proposal.

Mielke said Wednesday that he supports eliminating the county's R-10 and R-20 zones and replacing them with R-5.

Commissioner Marc Boldt said he's interested, too.

"I'm sure looking at it," Boldt said after a work session Wednesday on the county's developing rural plan.

At the work session, Boldt urged county staff members to be ready for a major environmental study that would be necessary before the zoning change could take effect.

Commissioner Steve Stuart, the board's sole Democrat, said he opposes the change.

The proposal to eliminate R-10 and R-20 zones wouldn't affect land zoned for agriculture, though commissioners are also considering shrinking minimum farm sizes, too.

Complicating the effort: many farms were never zoned for farming, and much land zoned for farming isn't being farmed.

Some who want to shrink rural lot sizes note that 20-acre farms are increasingly rare in the county. Today, commercial dairy farms tend to be larger, and specialty produce farms smaller.

"My experience with crop farmers is they can do amazing things on 3 to 4 acres," said Ginger Burr, chairwoman of the rural task force.

As of March 2008, Clark County had 2,521 residential parcels subject to 10-acre minimums, 686 with 20-acre minimums and 16,528 with 5-acre minimums. Many of those lots, however, were subdivided before those minimums took effect.

Michael Andersen: 360-735-4508 or michael.andersen@columbian.com.