Title
A MOTION expressing the intent of the council to enhance incentives for watershed protection, to provide technical assistance and staffing in support of flexible alternatives to fixed critical areas regulations and to renew funding support for the King Conservation District.
Body
WHEREAS, the county uses a mix of regulatory and nonregulatory tools to protect critical areas, and
WHEREAS, these tools include tax incentive programs like the public benefit rating system, public education and technical assistance, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 15028, adopted by the council on September 27, 2004, recently established two new categories for the public benefit rating system known as "watershed protection" and "rural stewardship" to provide tax incentives for protecting forest cover and carrying out site-specific best management practices to protect critical areas, and
WHEREAS, additional amendments to the king county code are needed to establish criteria for the new watershed protection and rural stewardship categories and to update other public benefit rating system categories, and
WHEREAS, the Waterways 2000 Program successfully demonstrated how community partnerships and direct assistance to landowners in preparing public benefit rating system applications could make it easier for landowners to access the public benefit rating system program, and
WHEREAS, the current application fee for the public benefit rating system program is two hundred dollars, and
WHEREAS, the critical areas ordinance provides for rural stewardship plans, farm plans and forest management plans as flexible alternatives to fixed regulations to protect critical areas and to identify best management practices to protect water quality, and
WHEREAS, the critical areas ordinance requires the county to provide up-front classes, technical assistance, and model plans to facilitate landowner access to these programs, and
WHEREAS, the council will adopt a budget for 2005 in late Novemb...

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