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Home My WebLink Aboutord1993-038WWHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. AB93- 214 CLEARANCES: Initial Date Date Received in Council Office A enda Date Assigned To Ori inator -ir 2 L 1cti ° E Q V E ivision Head- c:\f4\2\0293.Ab 6/22/93 P &D Council Department Head- �/�3 � utl 1993 7/6/93 P &D /Council Prosecutor Review- Purchasing/Budget Di r.- HA T C®YCOUNTY Executive- COUNCIL SUBJECT: FILE REF: 0293:ZT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OFFICIAL WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE, TITLE 20, TO ALLOW THE COMMERCIAL EXTRACTION OF SAND AND GRAVEL KNOLLS AND RIDGES AND ACCESSORY SORTING OF MATERIALS IN THE AGRICULTURE ,DISTRICT. ATTACHMENTS: Agency report with attached staff report Excerpts from Planning Commission Minutes Draft Ordinance Public Hearing Needed? Yes /_/ No /XX/ SUMMARY STATEMENT: -rhe request would allow small -scale commercial mining in the Agriculture district. Mining practices presently allowed in this zone are either non - commercial mining for farm enhancement purposes or large scale commercial mining within the Mineral Resource Land (MRL) overlay district. The requested language, while allowing some commercial extraction, includes provisions to limit the excavation size, depth, and duration, and requires reclamation in three acre increments or less. The limitation on size will preclude the ')epartment of Natural Resources involvement with the activity, and clearly assign local jurisdiction. RECOMMENDED ACTION: The Director of Land Use and Economic Planning recommends that Council accept the Planning Commission's recommendation by adopting the proposal. COMMITTEE ACTION (including dates): COUNCIL ACTION (including dates): 6/8/93: Council introduction 6/22/93: Delayed until 7/6/93 7/6/93': Adopted with amendments (7 -0) Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution Number: Ord93 -038 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 1s 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2s 27 28 29 30 33 FILE REF: 0293.ORD (C:kf4k2k] f10 INTRODUCED BY: rn-n t- PROPOSED BY. • PLANNING DATE: ORDINANCE NO. 93 -038 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OFFICIAL WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING ORDINANCE, TITLE 20, TO ALLOW AS A CONDITIONAL USE THE EXTRACTION, ACCESSORY SORTING AND SALE OF SAND AND GRAVEL EXTRACTED FROM KNOLLS AND RIDGES IN THE AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT. WHEREAS, The Whatcom County Conservation District /Dairy Federation has applied for a text amendment to amend the Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance, Title 20, to allow the commercial extraction of sand and gravel knolls and ridges and accessory sorting of materials in the Agriculture district; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 36.70.590 legal notice was published in the Bellingham Herald on Thursday, February 25, 1993; and WHEREAS, a Determination of Nonsignificance was issued by the Deputy SEPA Official on January 29, 1993; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the amendment on March 10, 1993, and considered all testimony; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a work session on April 14, 1993 to review final wording developed by staff and after due deliberation made a determination that the application be approved with modifications; and WHEREAS, the Council reviewed the Planning Commission recommendation at a public meeting on July 6, 1993, and WHEREAS, the Council has adopted the following findings and conclusions: FINDINGS 1. The request would allow non - commercial sale by landowners or farmers of mineral resources removed from certain agricultural lands in the Agriculture district. Mining practices presently allowed in this zone are either non - commercial mining for farm enhancement purposes or large scale commercial mining within the Mineral Resource Land (MRL) overlay district. 2. The limitation on size included in the request will preclude the Department of Natural Resources involvement with the activity, and clearly assign local jurisdiction. 3. In total, about 800 acres out of the 80,000 acres zoned Agriculture in the county are currently permitted to surface mine on a commercial level. At least half of the material in these areas has been extracted. Applications for an additional 300 acres are currently 2 3 4 5 s 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 1s .J 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 2s 27 28 29 30 31 32 FILE REF: 0293.ORD (c: �N4 2�] jlo Page 2 being processed by the County. 4. Goals and Policies of the Lynden Nooksack Valley Comprehensive Plan require that ancillary land uses in the Agriculture district, including limited sand and gravel extractions, should be subject to public review to ensure maintenance of the agricultural resource and compatibility with agricultural operations. 5. Due to the considerable overlap between high quality sand and gravel lands and high quality agricultural lands, there will be continued conflict and competition for lands in the future. 6. Benefits from removal of knolls and hills containing mineral resources include decreased irrigation requirements and more even terrain. 7. Drawbacks from removal of knolls and hills containing mineral resources include the loss of productive soils, loss of scenic terrain, enforcement constraints, and increased risk of groundwater contamination. The request addresses these problems. 8. Existing regulations do not allow farmers to sell sand and gravel on a small scale for farm enhancement and /or supplemental income without first applying for a MRL overlay zone designation on their property. 9. Steps to restoration of agriculture lands after mining include pre - planning; carefully handling soil layers; mining small areas at a time and reclaiming progressively; moving soil materials under dry conditions; contouring the pit floor to manage drainage; eliminating soil compaction; and following a post soil rehabilitation plan. CONCLUSIONS The requested text amendment includes reasonable controls that will ensure the productivity of farmland soils while also allowing greater flexibility in land use options. The standards proposed were based upon an earlier staff recommendation which had been proposed after staff analysis and review by the Surface Mining Citizen Advisory Committee. Certain adjustments, however, have been made that generally reflect the steps on restoring agricultural lands after mining as outlined in this report. More specific criteria on site - planning and soil protection would be ensured on a site by site basis through the use of BMP's and through the required review of the Conservation District. Finally, allowing limited sand and gravel operations in the Agriculture district while requiring sound regulatory controls to ensure the productivity of farmland soils would be in conformance with the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 iJ 17 18 19 20 21 FILE REP 0293.OR0 (c: If412V jlo Page 3 NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL THAT: Section 1. Title 20, Agricultural District, Chapter 20.40 of The Official Whatcom County Zoning Ordinance is hereby amended as shown in the attached Exhibit A. Section 2. The Council finds the public health, safety and general welfare are promoted by this change. Section 3. Adjudication of invalidity of any of the sections, clauses, or provisions of this Ordinance shall not affect or impair the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any part thereof other than the part so declared to be invalid. PASSED this 6th day of July 1993. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Wrge Laidlaw, Chairperson ATTEST: M APPROVED ( ) VETOED Clerk of the Council APPRO D AS TO FOR a n Frakes Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Shirley Van Zan en, Coun Executive Date 8 - 13 _U EXHIBIT A (20.40) AGRICULTURE (AG) DISTRICT 20.40.150 CONDITIONAL USES FILE REF: 0293.ORD (c: I M12 11 /lo Page 4 ...................... .......................................................:..................................................................................................... ............................... :< ><.::.::::.;:.....: .:.:::.:. .::::: rs#ii rrr fi f� fit€ c€ €�1t ............................:.....................................:...............................................::::::::...................................:................................... ............................... r<e�ri rlaiauix ...................:..:::: .................................................................................... ............................... . .......:..... . ......................:....:.:.......................:...:...............:.:....:..................................::..:.......................................................... ............................... IONo€� FILE REP 0293.ORD [c:�N 2Vjlo Age 5 .4 (20.97) DEFINITIONS ty Nova*