WAC 458-30-210   Classification of land under chapter 84.34 RCW.  (1) Introduction. Under chapter 84.34 RCW, land may be placed into one of three classifications on the basis of its current use. This rule explains and describes each classification of land as defined in RCW 84.34.020.

     (2) Definitions. For purposes of this rule, the following definitions apply:

     (a) "Farm employee or farm and agricultural employee" means an individual who is employed on farm and agricultural land on a full time basis or a seasonal or migratory worker who works on farm and agricultural land only during the planting, growing, and/or harvesting seasons. The term also includes an individual who is employed at least twenty-five hours per week on farm and agricultural land. It does not include a person who is employed full time by a business activity that is not conducted on classified farm and agricultural land and who only works occasional weekends or during the harvest season on classified farm and agricultural land.

     (b) "Integral" means that which is central to or inherent in the use or operation of classified farm and agricultural land for commercial agricultural activities. For purposes of this rule, the residence of the farm operator or owner and/or housing for farm employees must be the place(s) from which the farmer conducts his/her commercial agricultural business.

     (3) Open space land. Land classified as "open space land" means one of the following:

     (a) Any parcel(s) of land so designated by an official comprehensive land use plan adopted by any city or county and zoned accordingly.

     (b) Any parcel(s) of land, whereby preservation in its present use would either:

     (i) Conserve and enhance natural or scenic resources;

     (ii) Protect streams or water supply;

     (iii) Promote conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches, or tidal marshes;

     (iv) Enhance the value to the public of abutting or neighboring parks, forests, wildlife preserves, natural reservations or sanctuaries, or other open spaces;

     (v) Enhance public recreation opportunities;

     (vi) Preserve historic sites;

     (vii) Preserve visual quality along a highway, road, or street corridor, or scenic vistas;

     (viii) Retain in its natural state, tracts of land of not less than one acre in size situated in an urban area and open to public use on such conditions as may be reasonably required by the granting authority; or

     (ix) Any parcel(s) of farm and agricultural conservation land. Farm and agricultural conservation land means either:

     (A) Land previously classified as farm and agricultural land that no longer meets the criteria of farm and agricultural land and is reclassified as "open space land"; or

     (B) Traditional farmland that is not classified under chapter 84.33 or 84.34 RCW, has not been irrevocably devoted to a use inconsistent with agricultural uses, and has a high potential for returning to commercial agriculture.

     (4) Farm and agricultural land. Land classified as "farm and agricultural land" means one of the following:

     (a) Any parcel of land twenty or more acres in size or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and total twenty or more acres in size when the land is:

     (i) Primarily used to produce livestock or agricultural products for commercial purposes;

     (ii) Enrolled in the federal conservation reserve program or its successor administered by the United States Department of Agriculture; or

     (iii) Primarily used in similar commercial agricultural activities as may be established by rule.

     (b) Any parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land at least five acres, but less than twenty acres, in size that is primarily used for commercial agricultural purposes, and produces a gross income each year equal to:

     (i) One hundred dollars or more in cash per acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification when the application was made prior to January 1, 1993; or

     (ii) Two hundred dollars or more in cash per acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification when the application is made on or after January 1, 1993.

     (c) Any parcel of land or contiguous parcels of land less than five acres in size that is primarily used for commercial agricultural purposes, and produces a gross income each year equal to:

     (i) One thousand dollars or more in cash per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification when the application was made prior to January 1, 1993; and

     (ii) One thousand five hundred dollars or more in cash per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification when the application is made on or after January 1, 1993.

     (d) Any parcel of land that is twenty or more acres in size or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and total twenty or more acres in size on which housing for farm and agricultural employees and the principal residence of the farm operator or the owner of land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (2)(a) is situated if:

     (i) The housing or residence is on or contiguous to the classified parcel; and

     (ii) The use of the housing or the residence is integral to the use of the classified parcel for agricultural purposes. (See WAC 458-30-317.)

     (e) Farm and agricultural land also includes:

     (i) Land on which appurtenances necessary for the production, preparation, or sale of commercial agricultural products are situated when the appurtenances are used in conjunction with the land(s) producing agricultural products, such as a machinery maintenance shed or a shipping facility located on farm and agricultural land that produces the products to be shipped;

     (ii) Land incidentally used for an activity or enterprise that is compatible with commercial agricultural purposes as long as the incidental use does not exceed twenty percent of the classified land. An incidental use of classified farm and agricultural land may include, but is not limited to, wetland preservation, a gravel pit, a farm woodlot, or a produce stand; and

     (iii) Any noncontiguous parcel of land from one to five acres in size that constitutes an integral part of the commercial agricultural operations of a parcel classified as farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2).

     (5) Timber land. Land classified as "timber land" means any parcel of land five or more acres in size or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and total five or more acres in size that is primarily used for the commercial growth and harvesting of forest crops.

     (a) Timber land refers only to the land.

     (b) Timber land does not include:

     (i) Land listed on the assessment roll as designated forest land according to chapter 84.33 RCW; or

     (ii) Land on which nonforest crops or any improvements to the land are located.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 84.34.141, 84.34.020, and 84.34.030. 02-20-041, § 458-30-210, filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 84.08.110, 84.08.070, 84.34.141 and 84.34.360. 95-21-002, § 458-30-210, filed 10/4/95, effective 11/4/95. Statutory Authority: RCW 84.08.010 and 84.08.070. 90-24-087, § 458-30-210, filed 12/5/90, effective 1/5/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 84.08.010(2), 84.34.141 and chapter 84.34 RCW. 88-23-062 (Order PT 88-12), § 458-30-210, filed 11/15/88.]