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<br />Marian Meadows Rezone and Subdivision Final Environmental Impact Statement 3-25 <br />7 What changes in land use would occur on the site from the proposal and <br />alternatives? <br />Under the applicant’s proposed PUD and under any of the alternatives, changes in land use from <br />undeveloped/forest land to residential development would occur. The extent to which land cover <br />consisting of forest vegetation would change is a function of the portion of a lot that would be cleared and <br />devoted to buildings and non-forest vegetation such as lawn. Accordingly, those alternatives proposing <br />development throughout the site (Alternatives 1, 3, and 4) would result in more significant changes to <br />land use, while those alternatives limiting development to a portion of the site (Alternatives 2 and 5) <br />would result in less significant changes to land use. The alternatives with smaller lot size would result in <br />more change in land cover than alternatives with larger lot size. <br />8 Are future residents likely to live on the site year-round? Or will they live on the site <br />seasonally? <br />In assessing potential impacts of the proposed development, the characteristics of future residents are <br />important to consider. Population characteristics affect the amount of time spent in a residence, and age <br />and family size affect the demand for a variety services, including schools, utilities, and transportation <br />needs. <br />Generally, there are three market sectors in the housing market in the area which reflect the character of <br />the local economy in western Kittitas County: <br /> Full-time, year-round residents primarily living and working in the area, with the age structure and <br />family tenure typical of the greater Kittitas County; <br /> Full-time, year-round residents who are retired; and <br /> Part-time, seasonal residents primarily using the site for winter sports and summer recreation. <br />Kittitas County had an economy based on agriculture and timber until the 1970s. Since then it has <br />diversified into a number of areas, most significantly the services, trade, and government sectors. <br />Agriculture in the Kittitas Valley continues to be important; its employment accounted for 6 percent of <br />non-farm employment in 2000 and a similar proportion in 2008. The manufacturing sector is also driven <br />by the local natural resource-based industries. The highest manufacturing employment is found in food <br />processing, followed by lumber and wood products. <br />Services and trade, combined, accounted for approximately 45 percent of non-agricultural employment in <br />Kittitas County in 2000 and a similar proportion in 2008. Most of these workers were employed in <br />relatively low-paying industries, such as restaurants, food stores, and tourist and recreation-related <br />services.