Farmer Town Hall
On December 5, 2024, ARCIC hosted and facilitated a Farmers Town Hall to review recommendations that will be made to Island County to include in updates to the Land Use and Natural Resources Elements of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan.
More than 35 farmers from all over Island County broke into small groups to review and prioritize the ARCIC recommendations. They also discussed both the challenges and opportunities of farming in our county.
These recommendations were developed with the assistance of the American Farmland Trust (AFT). A team of farmers--Danielle Bishop (Ebey Road Farm), Mona Campbell (Kristoferson Farm), Annie Jesperson (Deep Harvest Farm), and Jake Stewart (Sweetwater Farm)—worked with the AFT to formalize a draft of 13 recommendations.
On February 5, Danielle and Annie will be presenting the recommendations on behalf of ARCIC to the Island County Planning Commission. They will also advocate for them to be included in the Comprehensive Plan.
Both the Planning Commission and the Planning Department are tasked with overseeing the Comprehensive Planning process, making recommendations to the County
Commissioners, and drafting the new elements for final adoption. You can join the meeting either in person or remotely.
We look forward to sharing more specifics with you during the next public phase of this process. In the meantime, please feel free to provide public comment and input on the important role farming plays in our community! If you have questions, please contact Marian Myszkowski at marian@goosefoot.org.
*ARCIC's work on Island County's Comprehensive Plan update is supported with funding from Washington's Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington's climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.