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Skagit planning staff outline three-tier agritourism code, commissioners press for clarity on festivals and weddings
Summary
Planning staff presented draft agritourism amendments that create three levels of activity (Ag1–Ag3), limit conversions of agricultural land, require performance standards and annual reporting, and prohibit certain event venues (including weddings) on Ag‑NRL lands; commissioners and public commenters asked for clearer carve‑outs for events like Festival of Family Farms and guidance on permitting costs.
Planning and Development Services presented a work session on proposed agritourism code amendments to the board on March 24, describing a three‑level system that ties review requirements to likely community impacts.
Jack (Planning & Development Services) said the draft defines agritourism as secondary and supportive of a primary agricultural use and divides activities into Ag1 (low impact: up to 50 people per day and 10 days per year), Ag2 (moderate impact: administrative special use permit, expanded days), and Ag3 (highest impact: hearing‑examiner review, larger capacity). The code would allow agritourism in agricultural and related rural zones but includes performance standards to prevent conversion of productive farmland, requirements that activities be carried out by the farm owner/operator, parking on site (not in rights‑of‑way), and concurrency with county road levels of service.
Notable proposed limitations include a ban on farm‑to‑table restaurant operations under Ag3, an annual self‑certification requirement, and the ability for the director to require additional studies. Planning staff recommended keeping Ag1 as a permitted use subject to an initial signed acknowledgment, rather than imposing an administrative special use permit that could be cost‑prohibitive for small operators.
Commissioners asked specific questions about whether family gatherings, small weddings and church lunches would require permits (Jack said private gatherings are not intended to be regulated) and about the estimated cost of an administrative special use (~$3,000). Concerned residents and festival organizers asked for carve‑outs or mitigation pathways for events such as the Festival of Family Farms and the Tulip Festival so small‑scale, community events would not be unduly burdened.
Planning staff said the public comment period opens March 26 and closes April 15, with a public hearing scheduled for April 13 and county deliberations on April 28. The code remains under revision, and staff and the planning commission will consider feedback on definitions, limits and administrative processes before final recommendations to the board.
