Skagit County Agritourism Study

Background

Skagit County is reviewing what agritourism means to the County's agricultural community, rural residents, and other stakeholder and how future agritourism policies will fit the Comprehensive Plan vision and the Growth Management Act resource land protections.

Staff conducted an exploration and analysis of agritourism in Skagit County which resulted in a report on the economics of agritourism, a current assessment of County policies, and case studies from similar jurisdictions. The study addressed the current situation with farmstands and value added activities, agricultural recreation, and options for other types of agritourism such as potential food service on farms, wedding venues, temporary event spaces, etc.

An agritourism policy options report was released recently to address a range of agritourism concepts and objectives. The report includes a comparison of policies in terms of opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses. The County will use host public meetings and use the survey below to take feedback on the policy options report.

Based on feedback from this report, a legislative proposal will be developed for consideration by Skagit County. This will allow the County to propose amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, zoning map, and development regulations to address agritourism.

Take our Agritourism Policy Concepts Survey!

Introduction

Following a situation assessment and community engagement efforts in 2021, Skagit County has developed Policy Concept options, available to review here. Agritourism related uses under review include:

Farm stands
U-Pick
Farm stays
Tasting Rooms, Restaurants
Weddings
Seasonal Events – Festivals, Farm to Table, Farm Tours

Code options look at different options for where/how to allow the agritourism uses.

Current Code Option: The zoning code as it stands today.
Option A Accessory Agritourism: Under Option A there would be targeted changes to use allowances in the zones where most of the County’s agriculture is located. It would address the range of agritourism above. Size, frequency, and compatibility measures would be addressed. It would build on the current code and fit within existing policies.
Option B Agritourism Overlay: Option B would establish an overlay zone including portions of resource and rural zones where additional agritourism activities could be allowed.
Option C Rezone Small Scale Recreation and Tourism: Option C would allow rezones of parcels on a case by case basis to Small Scale Recreation and Tourism (SRT) which allows for some of the more intensive agritourism uses.

This survey asks your opinions on different agritourism code options. Your input will help the County and consultants refine the options and develop a proposal that would be taken forward for Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioner Review. The survey will take about 15 minutes. Thank you for your time!

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Situation Assessment

Skagit County staff conducted a situation assessment to define current agricultural activities in Skagit, agricultural economic trends, engage with local farmers, and document case studies from similar jurisdictions. The situation assessment report was completed in 2021 and can be viewed here.

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Policy Options

Using information gathered during the situation assessment, staff compiled definitions for agritourism activities and several policy options the Skagit County Board of Commissioners could pursue on agritourism. The County is now collecting feedback from the community and relevant stakeholders on which policy options would be preferable.

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Legislation

With feedback from the community and stakeholders, staff will develop legislation and code language to present to the Skagit County Planning Commission. The Planning Commission will deliberate on the options and approve a recommendation to be sent to the Board of County Commissioners.

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Adoption

After the Planning Commission approves a recommendation, the Skagit County Board of Commissioners will deliberate and vote to approve a policy/policies on agritourism.

Documents

Agritourism Policy Options Report (3/15/22)
Agritourism Situation Assessment (9/13/2021) – Now includes updated Skagit County producer demographics, public engagement survey, local discussion groups, and a new agriculture map.
2021 Survey Results
Focus Group Summary
Public Outreach and Engagement Plan

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