Drafter
Clerk 07/02/2009
Title
AN ORDINANCE proposing an amendment to the King County Charter; providing enhanced protection for certain high conservation value properties that are designated by a supermajority vote of the council, by prohibiting the county from conveying or relinquishing its interest in those properties or authorizing their expanded use, except in specified circumstances; adding a new Section 897 to the King County Charter, and submitting the same to the voters of the county for their ratification or rejection at the November 2009 general election.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. King County has acquired interests in open space properties in the form of fee simple ownership, conservation easements and development rights. The county has done so using funds from various funding sources, including conservation futures taxes, Forward Thrust, real estate excise taxes, surface water management fees, the river improvement fund, the salmon recovery funding board, the interagency committee for outdoor recreation, voter-approved open space bond funds and state and federal conservation-oriented grants.
B. The primary purposes of acquiring open space properties are to conserve, preserve, protect, or enhance natural or scenic resources, timberland devoted primarily to the growth and harvest of timber for commercial purposes, streams, rivers, wetlands, soils, beaches, tidal marshes, fish or wildlife habitat, water quality, passive recreational opportunities, visual quality along highway, road and street corridors, and scenic vistas for current and future generations of King County residents.
C. Preserving the character of open space properties also reduces urban sprawl, provides natural corridors in urban areas, and serves to mitigate the effects of human activities that contribute to climate change.
D. The county council wishes to provide enhanced protection of certain high conservation val...

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