By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Another round of public meetings on proposed changes in land-use rules in rural areas of Pierce County include two next week in the county's south end. The meetings in Eatonville on Feb. 10 and Graham on Feb. 12 are part of an information campaign by county officials to explain the pending changes and hear the public's questions and comments about them. An update of the county's comprehensive plan is underway to comply with state requirements for planning for housing, transportation and other community needs while managing urban growth and reducing sprawl. Under the state's Growth Management Act, which the Legislature approved in 1990, counties are required to designate land that has the potential of being used for agricultural purposes in the long term. Land fitting that criteria includes five acres or more on which the soil is classified as prime agricultural soils. According to the county's Department of Planning and Land Services, there are approximately 3,000 landowners whose property meets the proposed criteria for agricultural resource zoning and is currently zoned rural. Another 300 parcels of land are currently designated as agricultural resource but wouldn't meet the proposed new criteria and would be changed to a rural designation. More discussion is planned for meetings scheduled for: " Feb. 10 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Eatonville Community Center, located at 305 Center St. W. " Feb. 12 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Kapowsin Elementary School, which is at 10412 264th St. .E in Graham. Meetings also are scheduled for the east area of the county (Feb. 5 in Buckley) and west area (Feb. 9 in Vaughn on the Key Peninsula). The county last year mailed notices to owners of property that could be affected by the proposed land-use changes. Those notices led to meetings such as one held in November in Ashford to explain possible new zoning in the Nisqually River Valley area. Current commercial uses would be allowed to continue even if the zoning changes, Planning and Land Services director Dennis Hanberg said in letters sent in October to landowners. The review and updating of the comprehensive plan is headed toward a mid-2015 conclusion. Proposals are to be sumitted by Feb. 14 to the county Planning Commission for public hearings. The commission will send its recommendations to the County Council, which will hold more public meetings before approving a final plan update by June 30. During a council meeting last October in Ashford, Roy Thurston, a Planning Commission member, urged county government to be sensitive to rural land-use issues. Thurston claimed county planners are urban-minded and don't understand the lifestyles and needs of rural communities. He urged the council "to ride herdGÇ¥ on the department and increase planners' grasp of rural land-use. More information on Pierce County's comprehensive plan update is available at piercountywa.org/realize2030, where comments can be submitted. Comments can also be mailed to Pierce County Planning and Land Services, 2401 S. 35th St. #175, Tacoma, WA 98409.
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