“The Comp Plan, County Code and You”
A presentation was given on the role of the ARC and the comp plan in county government. The vision and community engagement shape the Comp plan and the Comp plan shapes county code (UDC). The county code is what actually dictates what is allowed or not allowed. There are 8 Elements in the comp plan and for our presentation we highlighted the ones that have the most relevance for agriculture: Economic Development, Land Use and Housing.
We broke into small groups and discussed what we want to more of in the county and what we want less of. There was rousing discussions. Each group put their notes down. Below are the notes from all of the groups. Redundancies indicate that multiple groups made notes about the same issue. What was missed? Do you agree? We always want to hear from you. Send Faith an email and I can add your thoughts. faithv@sanjuanco.com
Participants wanted more of or like the direction the county was going for the following:
People care about the land and live here year round
Composting toilets and grey water- take to state
Inspiring visitors through alternative lifestyles
Forgiveness of alternative systems
Rainwater catchment
Keep the islands weird
Recognize agroforestry
Thriving farm stands everywhere
More food from the islands
Relaxed Cooking Regs
Yurts OK
Flexible standards for farm stays- allow farm camping
Allow yurts
More flexible farm worker housing- ease up code
Allow tiny homes, especially portable for farm workers
Bike tourism and camping on farms
Cottage industry expansion- easier for small-scale start ups
Cohousing for farm workers
Different standards for seasonal housing
Higher tax rates for low occupancy (part time/second homes)
Allow for more housing on farm (retired farmers and new farmers
Public Banking
Unlimited Signage
Ponds and water catchment
Farm to table dinners
Agritourism
Make farming a viable occupation (diverse income streams)
Using pond water for irrigation
Fences and dealing with nuisance wildlife
Hunting and predator balance
Rainwater catchment and greywater
Diversity of affordable housing options (coops?, mobile homes?)
Seasonal worker housing
On-site farm worker housing and farmstay housing- tension between these
Sanitation systems to support affordable housing options- grey water support
Quality of housing
Other infrastructure to support growth within carrying capacity of land
Decouple CUFA from Land Use regs
New Definition of what a farm is- don’t rely on CUFA
Flexibility in defining cottage industries
Value added, housing, farm store flexibility, FTT w/alcohol, allow professional/personal services (maybe as a %)
Clear but flexible housing rules that people will follow
Want EE housing
Guidelines are better than restrictive rules
Participants wanted to put the brakes on the following:
Everything for sale
Experiences for sale
Views preserved at expense of farm production
Farming theme parks
Trash everywhere
Too many cars
Too many people
SJI ag only for the rich
People can’t make money selling food
Erosion and bare soil
Exploiting loopholes
Barriers to entry- commercial kitchen regs
Prime ag land used for grazing (climate change concerns) What is appropriate use? Rotational grazing?
Vacation rental
No second homes on farmland
Size and placement restrictions
Number of farm stands
Damming of streams
Damage to wildlife
Airbnbs
Septic overload
Population density- what is the carrying capacity for tourism
Water restrictions/rationing
Loopholes
Chaos
Abuse and evasion of rules
Dead ends at every turn