Yakima County pauses agritourism code rewrite after Washington Supreme Court decision raises SEPA and land‑use questions

Planning staff told the Yakima County Board of Commissioners on March 3 that a narrow Washington State Supreme Court decision on King County’s agritourism ordinance complicates the county’s proposed changes to agritourism, winery/brewery/distillery and outdoor festival rules.

The county’s planning lead, Tommy Carroll, said the court’s ruling effectively prevents jurisdictions from grandfathering new land uses into existing permits and casts doubt on whether uses such as wineries and tasting rooms qualify as agricultural uses under the state’s land‑use rules. “The Supreme Court ruled that King County can’t grandfather any existing land uses to be allowed to do any new land uses that would be approved in a future ordinance,” Carroll said. He added the decision “insinuates…that certain agricultural things that we would refer to as agricultural uses…may not necessarily be considered agricultural uses.”

Carroll told the board that…