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Easton Subarea Plan — Public Comment <br />3. SITE ELIGIBILITY: THE PRE-EXISTING BUSINESS REQUIREMENT <br />Not every parcel within a Type 3 LAMIRD boundary is automatically eligible for new commercial <br />development. RCW 36.70A.070(5)(d) requires that the site be one "previously occupied by an <br />existing business." This means: <br />Recommended subarea plan language: "No new commercial development shall be approved <br />on Type 3 LAMIRD land unless the applicant demonstrates, through documented evidence <br />including historical aerial photography and county records, that the specific parcel was <br />previously occupied by a commercial business. Vacant or undeveloped land within a LAMIRD <br />boundary does not satisfy this requirement. " <br />4. RURAL CHARACTER CONFORMANCE: WHAT THE STANDARD <br />REQUIRES <br />Even when a proposal meets the size limits and site eligibility test, it must also conform to rural <br />character. RCW 36.70A.030(35) defines rural character through seven criteria. Kittitas County <br />has adopted its own local definition: rural character is "the predominant visual landscape of <br />open spaces, mountains, forests, and farms and the activities which preserve such features." <br />Any new development on Type 3 LAMIRD land must satisfy all of the following: <br />• Open space and natural landscape predominate over the built environment (RCW <br />36.70A.030(35)(a)) <br />• Traditional rural lifestyles and rural -based economies are fostered, not displaced <br />(RCW 36.70A.030(35)(b)) <br />• Visual landscapes traditionally found in rural areas are maintained (RCW <br />36.70A.030(35)(c)) <br />• Compatibility with wildlife and fish habitat (RCW 36.70A.030(35)(d)) <br />• No inappropriate conversion of undeveloped land into sprawling, low -density <br />development (RCW 36.70A.030(35)(e)) <br />• No requirement for extension of urban governmental services (RCW <br />36.70A.030(35)(f)) <br />• Protection of natural surface water flows and groundwater recharge/discharge <br />areas (RCW 36.70A.030(35)(g)) <br />Additionally, Comprehensive Plan Policies T-P44 and RR-P2 discourage uses incompatible with <br />resource lands and airports. The Easton area includes working forest land managed by the <br />Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Easton State Airport. WSDOT's <br />Aviation Division has previously expressed concern about increased development densities <br />around this airport. The subarea plan should explicitly require compatibility review for any <br />proposal adjacent to resource lands or airport operations. <br />The GMA and Comprehensive Plan also prohibit strip commercial development along highway <br />corridors. The subarea plan should include language preventing the clustering of commercial <br />uses that would create a pattern of highway -oriented commercial sprawl. <br />Page 2 <br />