Skagit County planning commission reviews proposed agritourism code; sets public comment and hearing schedule

SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — The Skagit County Planning Commission heard a work session Sept. 16 on proposed agritourism code amendments that would establish three intensity levels for farm-based visitor activities, new limits on events in agricultural natural resource lands and related rural zones, and a voluntary compliance pathway for existing large operators.

Planning and Development Services (PDS) staff, represented in the meeting by Jack Moore, told commissioners the draft code would define agritourism, set performance standards (parking, noise, lighting, nonconversion of farmland) and create three review tracks based on attendance and frequency: Agritourism 1 would be a permitted use limited to 25 guests per day and 10 days per year; Agritourism 2 would require an administrative special-use permit, limited to 100 guests per day and 24 days per year; Agritourism 3 would be the highest-intensity review and require a hearing-examiner special-use permit with conditions (capacity and days to be set in the approval).

The draft also includes a seasonal exception for operators participating in the county's Tulip Festival: between March 15 and May 15 those permitted agritourism operators may operate up to 30 consecutive days in addition to limits set by their categorization and permit conditions. The proposal would prohibit certain uses in the Ag NRL zone, including non-ag limited event venues, restaurants and regularly occurring celebratory gatherings such as weddings.

Why it matters: The county said the amendments aim to protect working farmland and surrounding farm operations while allowing farm-linked visitor activities that diversify farm income and increase public awareness of agriculture. PDS described the draft as focused on impacts'number of visitors,…