The Clark County Planning Commission held a public hearing to review three 2025 current use assessment applications for open space classifications, a program that grants tax incentives for land preservation. Two of the applications sought designations to preserve specific historic structures, including the William Frederick Kaufman House and a former bakery building in Vancouver. The third application established an 11.37-acre stream protection tract along Lacamas Creek, qualifying for the program because it is contiguous to a designated state shoreline. During the public comment period, a project manager from Pacific Lifestyle Homes testified in support of the Lacamas Creek designation, explaining that the tract was set aside during a recent subdivision development to provide wildlife habitat and recreational benefits for future residents. Following the presentations and testimony, the Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of all three open space classification applications.
Clark County Planning Commission
March 19, 2026 · 00:28:00 matched · Watch on CVTV ↗
Discussions
The Clark County Planning Commission reviewed and unanimously approved three 2025 current use assessment applications for open space classifications, which grant tax incentives for land preservation. Two of the applications designated historic structures, while the third established an 11.37-acre stream protection tract along Lacomis Creek. This stream protection tract was set aside during a multi-phase residential subdivision developed by Pacific Lifestyle Homes to preserve formerly farmed land for the enjoyment of future residents.
The Planning Commission outlined the procedures for the public hearing, noting that participants had three minutes to provide testimony and must direct their remarks solely to the commission. During the public comment period regarding open space classifications, a project manager from Pacific Lifestyle Homes provided the sole testimony. He spoke in support of an open space application for a subdivision his company developed, clarifying its two-parcel layout and highlighting the recreational benefits the preserved space will provide to future residents.
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.
The Planning Commission reviewed applications for the open space taxation program, which aims to protect environmental resources, scenic landscapes, and wildlife habitats. As part of this, they approved an 11.37-acre property along Lacamas Creek for a stream protection classification. The property qualified for this open space designation because it is contiguous to a designated state shoreline and is regulated under the county's Shoreline Master Program.
The Clark County Planning Commission held a public hearing to review three applications for the county's open space current use assessment program, which provides tax incentives for preserving environmental resources and historical sites. The applications included two historic properties and an 11.37-acre stream protection tract along Lacamas Creek that was established as part of a multi-phase residential subdivision. Following staff presentations and public testimony from the subdivision's project manager, the Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of all three open space classifications.
Topic Matches (14)
| Topic | Confidence | Timestamp | Keywords | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| building_development | direct | 0:28 | zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision | View |
| building_development | direct | 8:00 | zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision | View |
| building_development | direct | 17:53 | zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision | View |
| building_development | direct | 20:13 | zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision | View |
| building_development | direct | 22:17 | zoning, comprehensive plan, subdivision | View |
| cross_cutting | cross_cutting | 1:16 | public hearing, public comment, Public testimony, public testimony | View |
| cross_cutting | cross_cutting | 5:32 | public hearing, public comment, Public testimony, public testimony | View |
| cross_cutting | cross_cutting | 21:14 | public hearing, public comment, Public testimony, public testimony | View |
| forests_green_space | direct | 7:32 | timber, open space, Open Space | View |
| forests_green_space | direct | 15:33 | timber, open space, Open Space | View |
| forests_green_space | direct | 19:48 | timber, open space, Open Space | View |
| forests_green_space | direct | 23:53 | timber, open space, Open Space | View |
| forests_green_space | semantic | 8:46 | View | |
| wildlife_habitat | direct | 9:57 | habitat, shoreline management, wildlife | View |
Full Transcript (3324 words)
0:00 Okay, good evening commissioners Planning Commission public and staff, I would like to call this hybrid public hearing to order for Thursday, March 19th, 2026. My name is Carl Johnson. I'm the chairman of the Clark County Planning Commission. The role of the Planning Commission is to review and analyze comprehensive plan amendments, zoning changes, and other land use related issues. We follow a public process, including holding hearings during which the public has the opportunity to provide additional perspectives and information. In legislative matters, the role of the Planning Commission is advisory. County Council will hold separate hearings, consider our recommendations, and then they will make the final determination. The Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing tonight and take testimony.
0:59 All public comments received before tonight's hearing have been sent to PC members and entered into the public record. County staff will present first, and then the Planning Commission can ask questions. Next we'll invite the applicant to speak, if there is one, and then the members of the public who wish to provide testimony. When we get to the public comment portions of our agenda, we will provide more information on how to participate, both virtually and in person. However, if you are in person tonight and wish to provide a comment on a hearing agenda item, please sign up via the sign-in sheet at the back of the room. During public testimony, you have three minutes to speak and remarks should be directed to the Planning Commission only. Please do not repeat testimony that has already been provided. At the conclusion of the public testimony, staff and the applicant may respond to the comments, and the public portion of the hearing will then be closed. The Planning Commission will then deliberate and make a recommendation to the city, the county council.
1:59 For both virtual and in-person members of the Planning Commission and staff, please ensure that your microphones are muted unless you are speaking. Planning Commission members, when you make a motion or a second motion, please state your name for the court reporter. Conflicts of interest. Do any members of the Planning Commission have any conflict of interest related to tonight's hearing items? Hearing or seeing none, we will move on to a roll call and introduction of guests. Did I miss one? Okay. Jeff, can we get a roll call right now? >> Brian Halbert. >> Here. >> Mark Bergfeld. >> Here. >> Kyle Fenness. >> Here. >> Ron Barca. >> Here. >> Jack Caroon. >> Here. >> Oisha LaDuke-Montgomery. >> Here.
2:58 >> Carl Johnson. >> Here. With that said, we'll move into general business. Can I get approval for the agenda, excuse me, a motion and a second for the approval of the agenda for March 19th, 2026? >> Commissioner Halbert. >> This is LaDuke-Montgomery. I will move. >> Commissioner Halbert, I will second that motion. >> We have a motion and a second. Jeff, can we get a roll call please? >> Brian Halbert. >> Aye. >> Mark Bergfeld. >> Aye. >> Kyle Fenness. >> Aye. >> Jack Caroon. >> Aye. >> Oisha LaDuke-Montgomery. >> Aye. >> Carl Johnson. >> Aye. >> 6-0. >> Motion passes. Next up, can we get a motion and a second for the approval of minutes for January 15th, 2026? >> This is Commissioner Bergfeld.
3:53 I'll make a motion to approve those minutes. >> Commissioner Haroon, I'll second. >> We have a motion and a second. Jeff, can we- >> Brian Halbert. >> Aye. >> Mark Bergfeld. >> Aye. >> Kyle Fenness. >> Aye. >> Jack Caroon. >> Aye. >> Oisha LaDuke-Montgomery. >> Abstain. I don't think I was there. >> Carl Johnson. >> Aye. >> 5-0 with one abstention. >> Finally, can we get approval for the minutes for January 29th, 2026? >> This is Commissioner Bergfeld again, I'll go ahead and approve those minutes. Make a motion to approve. >> Commissioner Fenness, second. >> We have a motion and a second. Jeff, can we get a roll call? >> Brian Halbert. >> Aye. >> Mark Bergfeld. >> Aye. >> Kyle Fenness. >> Aye. >> Jack Caroon. >> Aye.
4:52 >> Alicia LaDuke-Montgomery. >> Aye. >> Carl Johnson. >> Aye. >> 6-0. >> Motion passes. Next section is communication from the public. This is for items that are not listed on our agenda. Is there anybody from the public that wishes to speak on any items that are not listed on our agenda? I don't see, now is there any from another, okay, Jeff, we'll skip the section right now and move on to the next part. Again, we are now going to the main section of it. If you are providing public testimony in person, we need you to sign up in the sheet in the back of the room. If you are joining remotely, instructions will be provided at the appropriate time by staff. First up, we have open space applications. Staff presenters will be Hunter Decker, Clark County Forester.
5:51 Gentlemen. >> Good evening, planning commissioners. Again, my name's Hunter Decker, the Clark County Forester for Public Works. And tonight, I'm presenting the 2025 current use assessment request for the open space classification, which will become effective for the 2026 assessment year if approved by council. I'll briefly go over the program background and the applicable criteria and then the three applications that staff reviewed this year. Next slide, please. 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
6:45 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 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.
7:44 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 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.
8:39 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 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.
9:38 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. 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.
10:34 And then the last one qualifies for stream protection under Clark County code 3.08040. And the current use fee is $2,282, which includes the processing fee and review fee. Next slide, please. There's several key criteria that are required for all open space applications and for the classification itself. First, the parcel size requirements under the code require them to be at least 10 contiguous acres excluded of one acre home site unless the application qualifies under special categories such as historical sites. Second, all open space tracks must comply with our Clark County's noxious weed control
11:31 program, which is administered by our county's vegetation management program. So as long as they maintain their property with the accordance with our county's weed control requirements, they would qualify. Next slide, please. So the first, the historical site category allows lands and lands that contain the structures or sites of historical significance to qualify. And so they must be listed on a local, state, or national historical register, and the property must be protected as such. Unlike other open space categories, these historical tracks may be smaller than five acres, provided that they meet the requirements. Next slide, please.
12:30 So the first application is the William Frederick Kaufman House. The applicant's requesting 0.52 acres, and it's located at 8104 Northeast 107th Avenue. The onsite review confirmed the presence of the William Frederick Kaufman House that was built in 1912 and is listed on our Clark County's register. Because the structure is recognized and meets the criteria, staff recommends approval of the 0.52 acres. Next slide, please. This slide shows the location of the Kaufman House property within the county, along with the aerial imagery and the specific parcel that's proposed for the classification there. Next slide, please.
13:28 And these photos are, show the pictures of the structure and courtesy of our county's GIS system. Next slide, please. The second application's for the bakery building that's located at 506 Washington Street in Vancouver. The applicant's request is 0.09 acres for the open space classification. Historically, the building housed a blacksmith and machinist shop in the late 1800s and later became the Royal Baking Company in 1911. The building's listed on the Clark County's Heritage Register and therefore meets the criteria for our open space preservation. And staff recommends approval of the 0.09 acres.
14:27 Next slide, please. And this slide shows the location of the bakery building downtown Vancouver, along with the parcel that's outlined. Next slide, please. These images show the historic and the compared to its current condition today. Next slide, please. So the final category that's relevant tonight is the stream protection under Clark County Code 3.08.040. This classification designations for land that protects streams, water, resources or shorelines of the state. And qualifying tracks must be contiguous to or straddling major streams designated shorelines
15:24 of the state or identified in the county's Shoreline Master Program. Next slide, please. So the last application located at 19502 Northeast 19th Street is the open space classification under stream protection. For a portion of this larger outlined in the yellow is a 38-acre parcel. I think it's on the next slide I talk about. And so as shown here, it's along the Lacomis Creek area, which is designated shoreline of the state, and it's regulated under the county's Shoreline Master Program. The highlighted area represents the portion where the corridor and the associated vegetation
16:23 along the creek had been evaluated for the compliance of the code. Next slide, please. And so the kind of the key code for this is looking at the minimum 10 contiguous acres for open space exclusive of a home site. And so during the from the time of our work session and to the hearing and in making new maps, the county's GIS system had remapped the parcels. So it came up to you know, originally it was submitted 11.43 acres. But you know, during the updated records, the two parcels are there now two parcels that total 11.37 acres.
17:21 So under our Clark County Code 3.08.040 stream protection classification applies to tracks that are contiguous to or straddle shorelines of the state, which the site does. An important distinction here is that the shoreline management area itself is less than 10 acres, but the code does not require the shoreline polygon to independently meet the minimum acreage threshold. Instead, the minimum acreage applies to the track being classified. Additionally, because the property was created through the subdivision, 3.08.090 requires each lot or parcel to meet the 10 acre minimum. So which here is satisfied. So based on this, the proposed 11.37 acre track meets all the applicable criteria and
18:16 staff recommends approval of the 11.37 acres. Next slide, please. And so here's a little closer look of how the acreage is configured of the 11.37 acres. You see the 7.43 acre parcel in the upper portion and then the 3.94 acre there on the lower side. So these tracks together meet that 11.37 acres. Next slide, please. And that concludes the presentation tonight and happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. >> Okay, questions for staff. Let me just make sure you let our recorder know who's speaking. And of course, slowly. Any questions? >> This is Commissioner Haroon. Just a quick question.
19:13 On slide 4, I was just reading it more in curiosity, the open space land in 2019 was 8,796 acres and 2026 is like half of that. So we've actually gone backwards from open space classification? Am I reading that correctly? >> So I wouldn't say backwards. But every transaction between landowners, sellers, buyers, they have the opportunity to continue the use. And so when people do land transactions and if they were in open space, they may have opted out and paid the back taxes. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Yeah, Hunter, Commissioner Halbert here. Just on back to Fairview Slope, Lot 12.
20:13 So will that be an independent track from all the other tracks that are in that subdivision? Or there'd be two tracks or just one track? >> Yeah, it would be. So in our GIS system, it would still be two parcels. But for the open space classification, it would be one tract. >> Got you, but it is a tract, or it's a parcel that is identifiable. >> Yeah. >> So it would be, in GIS, it would be identified as two independent tax parcels, both with the current use classification applied to them. >> Fair, thanks. Any other questions from the commission? Okay, with that said, we'll bring it back. We'll now hear public testimony for tonight's hearing.
21:11 Oral testimony should be directed at the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will consider all public comments as they deliberate it and vote on the recommendation of the council. So we'll start off, was there any sign-up sheet? >> There's one person who wants to speak. >> One person wants to speak, okay. So we'll start with that. Public testimony, I don't want to bring that person up. Do we have any other comment? Yeah, go ahead, sir. And make sure you state your name, please. >> Good evening, my name is Spencer Vetter, I'm a planning for a project manager for Pacific Lifestyle Homes. >> I can't hear him. >> Is this better? Okay. >> Yes, let me start your name again so further. >> Sure, all right. Good evening, my name is Spencer Vetter. I'm a project manager for Pacific Lifestyle Homes. I worked on developing this property. I want to thank the commissioners for allowing me this time to talk, and thank you to Kevin and Hunter for putting these slides together.
22:10 I'll keep my comments brief, but I first wanted to touch on the two parcels. They were created as two parcels because this subdivision was originally proposed as a three phase subdivision. So these are, we plotted two phases together, so this is a track from a phase one and from a phase two. It would otherwise be managed the same way by the HOA company. A little bit more fleshing out on this project is this open space will be a benefit to the future residents for their enjoyments. It was previously farmed by the Schnell family, and this is a continuation of that space. If there are any questions, I'm happy to answer them. >> Any questions for the applicant?
23:08 Okay, thank you very much, I appreciate your comments. >> Can he spell his last name, please? >> Yeah, thank you. It's Vedder, V as in Victor, E-T-T-E-R. >> Thank you, sir. Okay, with that said, that was the only one on the list. Okay, do we have any online? Okay, with none back online, we'll bring it back to the Planning Commission for Deliberations. Are there any comments from the Planning Commission regarding this? Or I would signal for a motion or a second if you'd like. >> I'd like that the applicants are taking advantage of these tax incentives to preserve their open space, and that single family, or that residence, and that building downtown.
24:05 I think this is a great program to help them continue to maintain some of our historic buildings and properties around. Great, great program. >> Thank you. Anybody? >> We've lost, okay. That said, I'd say I like the historical pictures too. Thanks for that, I mean, it just gives me a better, I mean, I'm sure it's the same, but I was like, that's really trippy, kind of what it was in the history of it. So it was nice, a good presentation. Thank you, it's always good to see you guys, appreciate your time. With that said, unless someone else would like to comment, I'd consider a motion. >> This is Commissioner Fadness. I move to approve the three requests as presented. >> This is Commissioner Haroon, I second. >> Mr. Berthold, I'll second. >> We have many seconds. Cindy, you can choose one. With that said, we have a motion and a second. Jeff, can we get a roll call, please?
25:04 >> Ryan Halpert? >> Aye. >> Mark Berthold? >> Aye. >> Kyle Fadness? >> Aye. >> Jack Haroon? >> Aye. >> Alicia LaDuke Montgomery? >> Aye. >> Carl Johnson? >> Aye. >> 6-0. >> Motion passes. With that said, we'll go to number five. Is there any unfinished business? >> This is LaDuke Montgomery. I just wanted to correct, earlier when we were approving prior minutes, I misspoke saying I wasn't at one of the meetings, and it was actually the March 5th work session I wasn't at. I don't think we need to re-vote on anything, I just wanted to correct my own misstatement. >> So, we can correct that for the record? >> Yes. >> Thank you, no problem. Is there any new business comments from members of the planning commission? Just for me, and again, I know for me, I have spring break coming up for as a teacher.
26:03 So April, and I know I've talked to kind of Jeff about just a general concept, and Jeff, you can always correct me here if you want to. But it looks like we will not have a hearing tentatively right now, or a work session until the 16th of April. And then we would have a hearing based on whatever Jose or Oliver said, correct? >> You're correct, we are not having any meetings on April 2nd. We may be having a work session on April 16th, and we will definitely be having a work session and a hearing in May. So right now, that's the current schedule. We will let you all know next week if we will be having a work session on April 16th. >> Awesome, thank you, Jeff. I just had to plan your lives ahead, is that all I wanted to do? So with that said, if there's nothing else, we'll call for an adjournment. Good to see everybody. Hope you have a great week. Bye.
27:09 [MUSIC]