The Clark County Planning Commission reviewed and approved three applications for the open space current use assessment classification, a program offering tax incentives to preserve specific land types. Two of the approved applications were for historical sites—the William Frederick Kaufman House and a former bakery building in Vancouver—while the third was for an 11.37-acre stream protection area. A developer's project manager noted that the stream protection tract was established during a multi-phase subdivision development and will be managed as open space for the benefit of future residents.
Building_development + Forests_green_space
Clark County Planning Commission · Mar 19, 2026 · 7:32–9:38 · Watch on CVTV ↗
Keywords: zoning comprehensive plan subdivision timber open space Open Space
What was said
6:30 So the open space program originates from the Open Space Taxation Act, which was created by the Washington State Legislature to maintain, preserve, and conserve open space lands for the benefit of natural resources, scenic beauty, and the overall well-being of the public. The program is governed by state law under RCW 84.34 and WAC 458-30, along with Clark County Code 3.08. And the state program includes three classifications, open space land, which we will be reviewing tonight. Then there is also farm and agriculture land, which is not part of the review tonight, and
7:24 also timber land, which was merged with the designated forest land program in 2024. So tonight's presentation only addresses the open space classifications, not farm or timber classifications. Next slide, please. The current use applications are reviewed jointly with the assessor's office and our public works departments. Applications are typically submitted toward the end of the calendar year preceding the assessment year, and then the requests are processed in the same manner as the comprehensive plan amendment as required by RCW 8434.037. So this means that the request must be reviewed by the planning commission before being forwarded
8:23 to the Clark County Council for final approval. This is the 35th year that Clark County has reviewed these current use assessment applications. Next slide, please. So again, the current use program has been in place since 1970, and historically, Clark County, we've enrolled thousands of acres into the open space classification. So for example, here in 2019, there was 8,796 acres across 582 owners. And then as of 2026, there's 4,625 acres across 245 owners. So the table shows the difference there with the market value and current use value, which
9:19 reflects the tax incentive provided for landowners who preserve these qualifying open space resources. Next slide, please. So Clark County code identifies several categories that can qualify for open space. These include the conservation enhancement of natural resources, the stream protection, soil conservation, enhancement of recreational opportunities and historical sites. These local categories align with the broader intent of the state's open space program, which focuses on protecting the environmental resources, the scenic landscapes, wildlife habitat and other historical significant areas. Next slide, please.
10:12 And so for the 2020/2025 review cycle, the county received three open space classification applications. After review, we determined that two of the applications qualify for historical sites under Clark County code 3.08.060. And then the last one qualifies for stream protection under Clark County code 3.08040.
Evidence (3 matches)
direct keyword 7:32–7:50 timber, open space, Open Space
is also farm and agriculture land, which is not part of the review tonight, and also timber land, which was merged with the designated forest land program in 2024. So tonight's presentation only addresses the open space classifications, not farm or timber classifications. Next slide, please. The current use applications are reviewed jointly with the assessor's office and our public works departments. Applications are typically submitted toward the end of the calendar year preceding the assessme
direct keyword 8:00–8:27 zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision
s are reviewed jointly with the assessor's office and our public works departments. Applications are typically submitted toward the end of the calendar year preceding the assessment year, and then the requests are processed in the same manner as the comprehensive plan amendment as required by RCW 8434.037. So this means that the request must be reviewed by the planning commission before being forwarded to the Clark County Council for final approval. This is the 35th year that Clark County has re
semantic semantic 8:46–9:38
County, we've enrolled thousands of acres into the open space classification. So for example, here in 2019, there was 8,796 acres across 582 owners. And then as of 2026, there's 4,625 acres across 245 owners. So the table shows the difference there with the market value and current use value, which reflects the tax incentive provided for landowners who preserve these qualifying open space resources. Next slide, please. So Clark County code identifies several categories that can qualify for open space.