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Clark County ag commission outlines committees for code enforcement, economic development and agritourism
Summary
After lengthy discussion on farmland protections, commissioners prioritized committees to pursue code enforcement, economic development, agritourism/events, ag land protection and farm productivity; members proposed a retreat and possible educational presentations to build capacity.
The Clark County Agricultural Advisory Commission on Jan. 28 reviewed a survey‑based worksheet of commission priorities and began forming standing and ad‑hoc committees to pursue work after the comprehensive plan process.
Members confirmed an active code enforcement committee (Justin, Dylan, Joe, Tyler) and expressed interest in committees for ag land protection (including TDR/PDR), economic development, community engagement, agritourism/events and increasing agricultural productivity. Chair Mo McKenna said commissioners would consider a multi‑hour retreat or special meeting to develop work plans for selected committees.
Commissioners argued economic development must accompany land‑conservation work. Diane Dempster and others suggested inviting outside presenters (for example the Northwest Ag Business Center) and gathering an inventory of farms and what they grow; staff noted a potential February 26 presentation. Joe Zimmerman and Kevin Dobbins highlighted local processing and market constraints — slaughter, packing and grain handling capacity — as barriers that must be addressed alongside land preservation.
On agritourism, commissioner Joe Zimmerman cited Washington’s agritourism statute and liability framework (cited in the meeting as RCW 4.240.83), and several members proposed an agritourism committee to reconcile county code with state law and to consider definitions and event exemptions.
Commissioners also discussed FarmLink‑style programs to connect fallow or underused farmland with prospective farmers, and suggested the current‑use program and production incentives as topics for the code enforcement or production committees.
Next steps: Commissioners will rank their top three committee priorities and staff will collect and synthesize the results ahead of a retreat; several commissioners offered to host or present research at future meetings.
