Farmers, residents press commission on how draft master plan affects agriculture and century farms

Residents and farmers pressed the Planning and Zoning Commission on May 15, 2025, seeking clearer language and stronger protections for agricultural operations and century farms in the draft Visualize Jefferson County master plan. Speakers at the meeting asked who had been engaged from the farming community and whether policy language on conservation easements and land-use regulations could be used to limit routine agricultural activities.

One resident, identifying experience in agriculture, urged the commission to clarify what “protect natural areas and ecosystems outside the urban growth area boundary by implementing land use regulations, conservation easements” would mean for everyday farming activities: “We fear daily of this exact statement,” the resident said, and asked whether typical on-farm work — feeding calves, running horses, producing earthworms for sale — could be affected.

Consultant Josh Kuntz responded…