Title
AN ORDINANCE regarding the King County noxious weed control program; revising King County noxious weed control program assessments; and amending Ordinance 13325, Sections 1 and 2, as amended, and K.C.C. 4A.670.200 and Ordinance 13325, Sections 5, 6 and 7, as amended, and K.C.C. 4A.200.460
Body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. On November 11, 2014, the King County council adopted Ordinance 17934 at the request of the King County noxious weed board to raise the noxious weed control program assessment in order to expand noxious weed control services as authorized in RCW 17.10.240.
2. Since the last noxious weed parcel assessment increase in 2014, there have been increases in the costs of providing noxious weed prevention and control services, increases in the number and acreage of noxious weed sites in King County that are mandated for control by chapter 17.10 RCW, and new species of noxious weeds discovered in King County. In addition, widespread non-regulated invasive weeds are creating increasingly negative impacts to farms, forests and urban greenspaces, and additional resources are needed to achieve higher levels of control of these damaging species through incentives and landowner assistance, especially to underserved communities and in areas being protected by conservation efforts.
3. The King County noxious weed control budget for 2019 and 2020 is included in the King County budget for 2019 and 2020, submitted to the King County council by the King County executive, and based on this budget an increase in the noxious weed control program assessment is warranted on all property not classified as forest land from $3.171 per parcel to $5.32 per parcel, and from 22.65 cents to 38 cents in the per-acre fee, and on property classified as forest land, from 31.71cents to 53.20 cents per parcel, and from 2.265 cents to 3.8 cents in the per-acre fee, in order to address the increases in noxious weed infestation and the decrease in external grant funding for noxious...
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