Kitsap County staff presented proposed agriculture code updates as part of the Year of the Rural package and described a new “working lands” concept intended to recognize agricultural activities on land that is not formally zoned agricultural.

Heather Cleveland said Kitsap County is the only county in Washington without agricultural zoning and that, historically, agriculture and residential uses have coexisted in the same zone. Staff proposed several targeted changes: an exception to allow shipping containers for agricultural uses (for example, refrigerated storage), removing an existing limit on shipping containers that the staff said is regulated at the state level, expanding the maximum permitted size of some agricultural buildings (details to be coordinated with building, fire and safety divisions), and adding a notification system for properties near resource lands (the county currently has notification for forest resource and mineral overlays but not for agriculture because there is no agricultural zone).

Cleveland emphasized that the agricultural code proposal is based on earlier county code conditions, historical conditional use permits and language used by other Washington counties. Staff said the proposed agricultural changes are not retroactive: they would not require existing legally established equestrian or agricultural uses to change, although changes in intensity of use (for example, beginning boarding operations) could trigger review.

Why it matters: The proposed changes aim to reduce barriers for farm operations (e.g., using shipping containers as refrigerated structures), clarify building-size allowances and improve notice to people moving adjacent to resource or working lands. Commenters and staff stressed the need for an advisory structure to help inform policy on forestry and agriculture.

Process: Staff said they would work with the Kitsap Conservation District and form an agricultural advisory structure; attendees called for full and diverse representation on any advisory council. Staff also said the draft will be refined based on public comments and working-group feedback ahead of Planning Commission deliberations in October and a Board of County Commissioners hearing in November.