County staff outline Gorgas open-space tax application; board to place item on next agenda

County planning staff and the assessor’s office briefed the Thurston County Board on Jan. 21 about a follow‑up to a Dec. 16 public hearing on an open‑space tax program application for a parcel in the Bald Hills area. Ashley Ride, identified in the staff presentation as a planning and economic director, described how the county’s open‑space tax program and the board’s public benefit rating system operate under the state Open Space Taxation Act and RCWs and may be used to preserve natural resources and farm land.

Staff said the parcel totals about 77 acres and that the application would retain approximately 15 acres in farm/ag use and designate about 62 acres as significant wildlife habitat; planning commission recommended approval. Jeremiah Olsen from the assessor’s office provided valuation examples: "The land is valued currently at 355,000," he said, and using a levy rate of "$7.19 per 1,000" the principal tax was given as about "$25.60" and with a 50% adjustment would show roughly "$12.08" (reported in packet materials).

Assessor’s staff explained that any tax shift resulting from classification flows across the parcel’s tax code area (TCA) and affects overlapping taxing districts rather than the entire county in equal measure. Using last year’s levies and a $500,000 house as an example, staff said the redistribution could equate to about a one‑cent increase for homeowners inside the affected TCA, though actual impacts depend on future levy and bond outcomes in the overlapping districts. Staff displayed a map of tax area 182 (a large southeast portion of the county overlapping Yelm School District) and confirmed site visits and ecological review steps; the 15 acres were described as continuing haying and beekeeping while the rest is restored/managed per wetland science reports.

Staff recommended placing the application on the board’s next meeting agenda as a consent item for approval; the board indicated agreement to add it for final action. Staff said photos and the initial packet materials include site documentation and that Marissa, the county field biologist, and other qualified specialists had walked and reviewed the site.