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1 • -~ --=----~-------------------- ---.------------.------. -=--"7 ~ ~ ----------~ -~ ______.__ -..... -~-~~ --~--~--! character" in Kittitas County, and fall squarely within the broad definition in RCW 36.70A.030. "Rural character" in Kittitas County is predominantly a visual landscape of open spaces, mountains, forests, and farms and the activities which preserve such features. It balances environmental, forest, and farm protection with a variety of rural development and recreational opportunities. Many sizes and shapes of properties can be found in the Rural Lands as well as assorted economic activities and opportunities, small rural residential development, and recreational opportunities throughout the County. The Interstate and State Highway systems which traverse the length and width of the County introduce countless travelers and visitors to the County. The County's highways and byways provide access to opportunities and means to create and preserve agri-tourist activities. They also provide access to extensive outdoor recreation activities identified by State law and by residents of Kittitas County as being "rural." This rich mix of uses and transportation systems allows the variety of lifestyle choice, which makes up the fabric of rural Kittitas County community life. The most common uses in rural lands are agriculture, recreation and logging, which have been basic industries historically and remain important in terms of employment, income and tax base. Kittitas County will strive to encourage and support these activities in areas they occur and are appropriate. Some choose a private, more independent lifestyle, or space for small farm activities. Others choose the more compact arrangement found in clustering, with its accompanying open space and close neighbors designed in ways that enhance and preserve rural character. One of the main attractions of the rural residential lifestyle is the low intensity of development and the corresponding sense of a slower pace of living. Part of what creates that attraction is the rural-level facilities and services. This Comprehensive Plan supports and preserves this rural lifestyle by limiting service levels to those historically provided in the County's rural areas. Residents should expect County services, such as road maintenance and emergency responses to be limited and to decrease as the distance from a rural activity center or urban area increases. 8.4.2 Planning for Rural and Resource Lands Present rural land uses in Kittitas County are a mixture of diverse development patterns stemming from trends established decades ago. The County has been characterized as having an abundance of rural uses including the strong recreational opportunities throughout the entire area. The existence of mountainous topography, intense forest lands, and large lakes in the Upper Kittitas County area draws large populations to skiing, camping, hunting, and hiking opportunities. Vibrant river and stream waters invite sports fishermen from around the State to the area. Hunting is prevalent in all areas of the County, including the middle portion of the region where sage and tall grasses are abundant for game bird and mammal habitat. The Lower Valley of Kittitas County has extensive irrigation and rich soils which have been valuable for agriculture and vital to the economy. Many farms have existed over a century and are very characteristic of the County's dominant rural character. Small, unincorporated communities exist throughout the County. These communities provide distinct, yet small scale services which rural residents depend upon. Many of these communities are located within "Limited Area of More Intensive Rural Development" or LAMIRDs as defined with the Washington State Growth Management Act. Combined, this mix of rural densities and uses has created a landscape unique to Kittitas County's rural lifestyle. Page 86