King County loosens rules on some agricultural land

Each year, Wade Bennett makes a living producing nearly 50,000 gallons of apple cider and wine in a converted three-car garage in the basement of his Enumclaw home.

The small space in the garage isn't nearly enough to process, pasteurize and ferment his ciders and wines. But he's made it work because, until now, the space was all that King County law allowed him.

New legislation passed by the Metropolitan King County Council gives flexibility to such rural farmers as Bennett, who make a living off their land. In Southeast King County, where farms are barely surviving, the county is giving farmers the freedom they say they need to make and sell products on their farms.

"We could not continue to operate in King County the way it was," said Bennett, who owns Rockridge Orchards & Cidery with his wife, Judy.

The law, passed Nov. 19, increases the opportunities for farmers to produce, process and sell products on their property. Before, farmers in most areas were allowed only 2,000 square feet for manufacturing and 2,000 square feet for product sales.

The law also changes the rules for garden nurseries, which were previously not allowed in most rural-zoning areas.

Processing and selling direct from the farm is necessary to survival, said Wade Bennett, who lives on a 41-acre apple orchard with his family.

Farmers make money selling value-added products — such things as apple cider, packaged vegetables and jams — directly to consumers, said Julia Larson of King County's Office of Business Relations and Economic Development.

Struggling farms continue to be a regular story in Southeast King County. As urban growth pushes the suburbs to the limits, people move out to the country. Farmland is expensive and hard to hold onto.

"Those of us who are left in the business here are being squeezed out of everything," Bennett said.

A rural economics report in 2005 showed that the survival of agriculture in King County was in jeopardy, Larson said.

King County worked closely with rural farmers to brainstorm ideas for how farms can survive. Many of the recommendations were incorporated into the new law.

The Farmland Preservation Program of 1979 protected farmland from development, and now it protects the farmers who work the land, Councilmember Larry Phillips said.

"If we're going to continue to have a diverse county, then it's important to maintain economic viability for those living in our rural communities," said Phillips, chairman of the council's Growth Management and Natural Resources Committee.

An orchard like his needs more room for processing to make money, Bennett said. With more space allotted by the new regulations, he says his business can quadruple without adding more acreage.

Several years ago, Bennett was ordered by King County code enforcers to stop making cider because he was operating against the law. His land wasn't zoned for manufacturing.

Bennett has been active in the pushing for the new law. He's been waiting for the approval to transform a 3,000-square-foot hay barn into a processing plant.

Now, he can finally move his business out of the garage.

Lauren Vane: 253-234-8604 or lvane@seattletimes.com