County gives agritourism a way to comply

"They are coming out of the woodwork," said Senior Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Will Honea during a public hearing of the Skagit County Board of Commissioners on Monday.

He was talking about people proposing "creative new arguments" for locating businesses that are not ag-related on land zoned Agricultural-Natural Resources Land.

Honea's remarks came before the microphone was turned over to residents with comments or questions about the six-month moratorium on new event venues on Ag-NRL land.

The moratorium, imposed in January, was aimed at those in the woodwork – people seeking permit applications for new venues that would offer weddings, concerts and retail fairs and other regular, ongoing events on Ag-NRL land. It also created a pathway for a dozen or existing venues on farmland to work with the county on a Voluntary Compliance Agreement that might bring them into compliance with Skagit County code.

Documents needed for the VCA include a written description of the activity, including hours of operation, buildings used, water source, food preparation, sanitation facilities, safety plan and parking. A site plan of land and buildings are also required.

A county work session in April had invited venue operators to discuss the details of the compliance process and enforcement with Honea and the commissioners.

But the moratorium has expired and while the county has talked with some venues, none has signed a VC agreement, according to Skagit County Planning and Services Director Jack Moore. The county will look for more ways to reach out to existing venues like Christianson's Nursery on Best Road, which hosts events in the Meadow Schoolhouse and the Vinery. It also extended the VCA deadline from mid-September to June 2025.

With agritourism zoning policy discussions basically starting all over again at the Planning Commission level, no one knows what an eventual policy might say about farm-based businesses and tourism venues. Venues that do not take advantage of the VCA process "will be governed by new code, which will happen through open, transparent legislative processes," said Honea.

Comments from five audience members focused on the zoning code development process and making sure that any final code changes apply to everyone equally.

The Weekly News was not able to reach Emma Christianson of Christianson's Nursery, but the nursery has participated in the Multistakeholder Working Group on Agritourism and indicated in March that they planned to work with the county.