‘Year of the Rural’ update: conservation groups urge Kitsap to protect farmland as parcel sizes shrink

Long-range planner Heather Cleveland presented an update on the Year of the Rural project to the Kitsap County Planning Commission on May 6 and introduced a farmland-preservation briefing by Diane Fish of the Kitsap Conservation District and the Kitsap Farmland Preservation Coalition.

Fish summarized farmland history in Kitsap County, described partner conservation projects and said the coalition’s analysis shows substantial farmland loss and conversion over recent decades. She urged decision-makers to evaluate land-use and policy proposals through a farmland-preservation lens during the Year of the Rural.

Fish and staff cited data from historical county records and the 2022 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture. Fish said Kitsap contains roughly 8,800 acres of prime farmland (16,000 acres if drained), 68,592 acres of prime farmland if irrigated, and 89,336 acres designated farmland of statewide importance; the combined figure discussed in the presentation was about 183,074 acres (roughly 72% of Kitsap land area) in those categories, acknowledging that the total covers urban and unincorporated areas.

Fish described how policy choices in past decades — notably implementation of the Growth Management Act — and infrastructure and market shifts (for example, processing and slaughterhouse closures) reduced commercial-agriculture capacity. She said Kitsap lost roughly 15,000 acres of farmland over the last 20 years and that the number of farms larger than 50 acres dropped from 57 to 18 in the same period. Fish cited encouraging signs in the 2022 ag census showing growth in farm sales categories and more farms reporting higher sales, but warned that housing costs and infrastructure gaps make land access and long-term investment difficult for new farmers.

The presentation reviewed preservation tools: land-use zoning and agricultural zoning (which Kitsap currently lacks), conservation easements and purchase/transfer-of-development-rights programs, participation in the state Current Use taxation program, and local strategies to improve farm economic viability. Fish noted practical constraints in Kitsap — for example, limited enrollment in current-use programs and the fact that Kitsap’s existing TDR activity focuses on wetland mitigation rather than agricultural preservation.

Cleveland outlined the Year of the Rural timeline and deliverables: a 30% draft of the rural-and-resource-lands chapter in June 2025, a 60% draft with a public comment period in September 2025, and work on rural reclassification requests, chapter updates and potential development-code amendments with planned adoption by December 2025. Staff said reclassification requests submitted to the docket generally propose higher-density rural zoning and that the department will present docketing recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners in June or July.

Commissioners and conservation-district representatives discussed local examples — Peterson Farm, the Dogfish Creek collaborative (formerly Bledsoe Farm), Babcock Farm and other conserved properties — and practical supports such as farm plans, technical assistance, and outreach to new and beginning farmers. Diane Fish recommended community engagement (farm tours, buying local campaigns) and policy choices that preserve working landscapes. Fish told commissioners, “No farms, no food,” and invited commissioners and staff to the county farm tour on August 10 and to visit the coalition website at preservekitsapfarms.org.

Staff said they will continue outreach with agricultural stakeholders, the Kitsap County Agricultural Alliance and the conservation district and will use GIS mapping and partner data to refine analyses of farmland, soils and water resources as part of the Year of the Rural process.