Clark County staff informed commissioners Thursday that the county’s agricultural land study, prepared by Eco Northwest and Triangle Associates, was submitted on Nov. 4 and is posted on the project web page. Oliver Ojeko said staff will email the study to planning commissioners on request and that the county will seek input from the county‑appointed agricultural advisory commission, which is scheduled to review the study on Nov. 19.

Ojeko described the study’s scope as countywide for agricultural lands outside the urban growth boundary; the study excludes forest lands, mining lands, areas in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and existing rural centers (for example Amboy, Felida, Meadowglade and Atkinson), consistent with the council’s direction to focus the analysis on designated agricultural areas. "The consultant that the county hired, Eco Northwest and Triangle Associate... they submitted that report, on November 4. So it's out," Ojeko said.

Staff explained the study serves as evidentiary analysis to inform the council’s selection of a preferred land‑use alternative. Ojeko emphasized the study’s role in helping the council decide whether any proposals for urban growth boundary changes would be appropriate and cautioned that if the council wants to include agricultural lands in an expanded UGA, those lands will need to go through the agricultural designation process required by statute. The study will also inform how the preferred alternative reconciles agricultural protection with housing and employment needs.

Next steps listed in the work session: staff will send the study to commissioners and to the agricultural advisory commission for its Nov. 19 meeting; the council will consider the study as part of Nov. 12 work sessions; and public comment on the draft EIS continues through 5 p.m. Nov. 30. Staff said comments received during the DEIS period will be addressed in the final EIS.

The study’s release is procedural evidence for the DEIS and preferred alternative selection; it does not itself change zoning or the UGA without subsequent council action and any required designation process.