Thurston County planning commission sets Aug. 20 hearing for 76.96‑acre Gorgas open‑space application

The Thurston County Planning Commission voted unanimously to set a public hearing Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. to consider Roland and Cindy Gorgas’s application to enroll 76.96 acres in the county’s Open Space Tax Program.

Marissa Westman, a biologist with Thurston County Community Planning, told commissioners the Gorgas parcel is mapped in the Long Term Agriculture (LTA) zone and that the owners are seeking enrollment under the farm and agricultural conservation and significant wildlife habitat area categories. Westman said roughly 15 acres are proposed for farm and agricultural conservation with the remainder classified as significant wildlife habitat.

The application packet described ongoing agricultural uses including haying and honeybee rearing by Forest Dog Farms, no residential structures subtracted from the enrollment, and supporting documents that include a land conservation plan and a habitat management report prepared by qualified specialists. Westman said the site contains wetland habitat, ponds, an intermittent stream and mixed‑stage forest and is located southeast of Yelm in the Yelm Creek Basin of the Nisqually watershed. She said the parcel lies within a mapped Category‑3 critical aquifer recharge area and that a recent wetland delineation identified about 56 acres of wetland rated Category‑2.

Why it matters: Enrollment in the Open Space Tax Program changes valuation from highest‑and‑best use to current use and reduces property tax bills if the parcel meets public benefit rating system (PBRS) thresholds. Westman said eligible properties must score at least three PBRS points and that tax reductions occur starting in the third year after application (application year = year 1; determination on the tax roll occurs in year 2; reductions take effect in year 3). She said the assessor’s office determines the actual tax reduction amount.

Property owner Roland Gorgas told the commission he and his wife spent two years preparing the application and estimated the tax savings at about $800 per year, adding that preservation — not immediate financial return — motivated the application. “We really want to protect the property,” he said.

Commissioner questions and staff responses

Commissioners asked about ecological and operational details staff had reviewed. Westman said the applicants planted over 200 trees on previously logged ground and that the property supports a variety of local wildlife, including Roosevelt elk and locally important species documented by a qualified biologist. She noted the Yelm Creek reach mapped on the parcel is not currently perennial but is documented in statewide fish distribution datasets as having historical salmon presence; she said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had told staff that if downstream fish‑passage barriers were removed in the future, fish use could improve.

Commissioners also asked about potential impacts from a biochar facility south of the parcel; Westman said she would follow up. The applicants told commissioners they would not use herbicides within sensitive areas and proposed invasive‑plant control by mowing and manual removal within 200 feet of wetlands and ponds. They also propose retaining downed wood and snags and implementing five‑year management reviews across a 20‑year period.

Several commissioners encouraged additional tree plantings and suggested local partners (conservation districts, timber companies selling seedlings and community groups, including scout troops) as possible sources of seedlings and planting assistance.

Tax revenue and process notes

Commissioners discussed fiscal effects. A county commissioner on the call noted that enrollment shifts tax burden and that the county itself does not lose the full dollar amount, explaining the change is largely a redistribution among taxpayers and that the county’s share of the saved amount is proportionally small. Westman repeated that the assessor’s office must calculate the exact tax change and that staff would provide an estimate if the commission requested it.

Formal action

Commissioner Kevin Pestinger moved to set a public hearing on the Gorgas open‑space application for Aug. 20, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. or soon thereafter; a second was recorded but not named in the audio. The commission voted by voice vote with unanimous recorded support; no commissioners voted against or registered an abstention.

Next steps

The commission set a public hearing for Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Staff and the applicants will appear at that hearing; the assessor’s office will finalize the tax determination if the property is enrolled. The application will then proceed to the Board of County Commissioners for a final decision under the county’s established open‑space program procedures.