Clark County Council’s Preferred Alternative selection puts Clark County farmland at risk
To our supporters who believe in our vision of a flourishing Clark County thriving with local farms, healthy forests, clean water, protected wildlife habitats and neighborhoods that are vibrant and diverse with parks and natural areas accessible to all:
On April 28th, the majority of the Clark County Council voted to adopt a preferred alternative that needlessly expands urban growth boundaries, destroys prime farmland, and will exacerbate urban sprawl and the climate crisis. With a 3-2 vote, the Council adopted most of the Planning Commission’s recommendation by selecting Alternative 2 of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement–plus additional agricultural land in Camas proposed in Alternative 3–as their preferred alternative for the 2025 County Comprehensive Plan Update Final EIS. Alternative 2 expands the urban growth areas of Ridgefield, La Center, Battle Ground, and Camas by over a thousand acres collectively, while including the de-designation of hundreds of acres of prime agricultural land. Additionally, the Council’s vote went directly against the Planning Commission’s recommendation that specifically conditioned any de-designation of prime agricultural land on the implementation of a Transfer Development Rights (TDR) program, removing the potential protection of valuable farmland from future development – even though the Cities have been advocating for developing a program that protects farmland while allowing for development. Unfortunately, a motion to remove all agricultural resource lands from inclusion in the Preferred Alternative did not pass.
The Council’s officially adopted preferences going into the Final Environmental Impact Statement process contradict the findings of the 2025 Agricultural Lands Study, recommendations of the Agricultural Advisory Commission, legal requirements of the Growth Management Act (GMA), and the overwhelming support for protecting our resource lands expressed by the residents of Clark County in both written and verbal testimony submitted for the Hearing.
The fight is not over.
While we had hoped that the Council would make the right decision to carry out the clear will of their constituents and make the responsible choice regarding food security, climate change resiliency, and protecting farmland for future generations of farmers, the fact remains that they will ultimately be accountable to compliance with the Growth Management Act (GMA).
We would like to thank Chair Sue Marshall and Councilor Wil Fuentes for voting to protect these invaluable resource lands, our local food system, and conserve our taxpayer dollars while supporting our farming community that is dealing with rampant land speculation as a consequence of prior urban growth area expansions.
We also want to share our deep appreciation and gratitude to everyone who engaged in this long and tiresome fight to protect Clark County from irresponsible sprawl and development. We hope that our extensive community outreach work to educate residents on how land use decisions impact all of us was helpful.
As a part of our outreach, Friends of Clark County:
- Partnered with a coalition of community-based organizations to advocate for equity in the comprehensive planning process
- Partnered with local farmers to ensure their concerns were heard and voices amplified
- Facilitated multiple Comp Plan-focused forums with elected officials and County staff
- Provided testimony for the record on several occasions, across multiple Council meetings, work session, and hearings
- Wrote multiple Op-eds for local newspapers to educate and inform the public
- Kept residents informed every step of the way with our Weekly Radars, calls to action, social media posts, and email newsletters
We intend to see our vision for Clark County to fruition, and we hope you’ll continue to fight alongside us for the future we, our children, and our grandchildren all deserve. More to come.
We need YOUR help to keep us ready for the fight ahead!
The time to give is NOW. As part of GiveBIG!, our Board of Directors are matching donations up to $1,200. Help us continue our work of protecting Clark County’s precious resources and community assets by giving BIG!