Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(2)
Definitions. For purposes of land classified under chapter 84.34
RCW, the following definitions apply:
(a)
"Additional tax" means the additional property taxes that will be collected
when classification is withdrawn or removed from land classified under chapter
84.34 RCW.
(b) "Affidavit" means
the real estate excise tax affidavit required by chapters 82.45 RCW and 458-61
WAC. The affidavit will be prescribed by the department and furnished to county
treasurers. This form is used by landowners to report sales or transfers of
classified land. The owner or transferor and the purchaser or transferee, or
agents of each, must sign the affidavit under penalty of perjury.
(c) "Agreement" means an agreement executed
between an owner and the granting authority regarding the classification or
reclassification of land as either open space or timber land under chapter
84.34 RCW.
(d) "Agricultural
product" means livestock and plants that are produced for commercial purposes
and includes any agricultural, horticultural, or aquacultural produce or crop;
the raising of livestock, poultry, bees, or fur-bearing animals; or the
production of milk, eggs, wool, fur, meat, honey, or other substances obtained
therefrom. When used in relation to livestock or furbearing animals used for
food or fiber, "raising" means breeding or increasing the value, size, or
weight of the animal. Agricultural product does not include cannabis, useable
cannabis, or cannabis-infused products as those terms are defined in
RCW
69.50.101.
(e) "Applicant" means the owner who submits
an application for classification or reclassification of land under chapter
84.34 RCW.
(f) "Application" means
an application for classification or reclassification of land under chapter
84.34 RCW.
(g) "Approval" means a
determination by the granting authority that land qualifies for classification
or reclassification under chapter 84.34 RCW.
(h) "Appurtenance" refers to something used
with, and related to or dependent upon another thing; that is, something that
belongs to something else, an adjunct. The thing appurtenant is strictly
necessary and essential to the proper use and enjoyment of the land, as well as
useful or necessary for carrying out the purposes for which the land was
classified under chapter 84.34 RCW.
(i) In
terms of farm and agricultural land, an appurtenance is something used for a
particular sort of farm and is widely and routinely used in the operation of
the commercial agricultural enterprise.
(ii) For example, an appurtenance may be an
outhouse, barn, or tool shed or it may be equipment used for a particular
purpose or task, such as tools, instruments, or machinery.
(i) "Aquaculture" means the growing and
harvesting of marine or fresh water flora or fauna in a soil or water medium
for commercial agricultural purposes.
(j) "Assessor" means the county assessor or
any agency or person who is authorized to act on behalf of the
assessor.
(k) "Assessment year"
means the year in which the property is listed and valued by the assessor and
precedes the year in which the taxes on the property are due and
payable.
(l) "Change in use" means
a direct action taken by an owner that actually changes the use of, or has
started changing the use of, classified land to a use that is not in compliance
with the conditions of the agreement executed between the owner and the
granting authority or to a use that is otherwise not in compliance with the
provisions of chapter 84.34 RCW.
(m) "Classified land" means a parcel(s) of
land that has been approved by the appropriate granting authority for taxation
under chapter 84.34 RCW.
(n)
"Commercial agricultural purposes" means the use of farm and agricultural land
on a continuous and regular basis, prior to and subsequent to application for
classification or reclassification, that demonstrates that the owner or lessee
is engaged in and intends to obtain through lawful means, a monetary profit
from cash income by producing an agricultural product.
An owner or lessee must engage in commercial agricultural
activities on the land to demonstrate a commercial agricultural purpose.
(o) "Contiguous" means land that
adjoins and touches other land owned by the same owner or held under the same
ownership. Land that is an integral part of a farming operation is considered
contiguous even though the land may be separated by a public road, railroad,
right of way, or waterway.
For purposes of this subsection (2)(o):
(i) "Same ownership" means owned by the same
person or persons, except that parcels owned by different persons are deemed
held by the same ownership if the parcels are:
(A) Managed as part of a single operation;
and
(B) Owned by:
(I) Members of the same family;
(II) Legal entities that are wholly owned by
members of the same family; or
(III) An individual who owns at least one of
the parcels and a legal entity or entities that own the other parcel or parcels
if the entity or entities are wholly owned by that individual, members of his
or her family, or that individual and members of his or her
family.
(ii)
"Family" includes only:
(A) An individual and
his or her spouse or domestic partner, child, stepchild, adopted child,
grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, cousin, or sibling;
(B) The spouse or domestic partner of an
individual's child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild, parent, stepparent,
grandparent, cousin, or sibling;
(C) A child, stepchild, adopted child,
grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, cousin, or sibling of the
individual's spouse or the individual's domestic partner; and
(D) The spouse or domestic partner of any
individual described in (o)(i)(B)(III) of this subsection.
(p) "County financial
authority" and "financial authority" mean the treasurer or any agency or person
charged with the responsibility of billing and collecting property
taxes.
(q) "County legislative
authority" means the county commission, council, or other legislative
body.
(r) "County recording
authority" means the auditor or any agency or person charged with the recording
of documents.
(s) "Current" and
"currently" means as of the date on which property is to be listed and valued
by the assessor.
(t) "Current use
value" means the taxable value of a parcel of land placed on the assessment
rolls following its classification or reclassification under chapter 84.34
RCW.
(u) "Department" means the
department of revenue.
(v) "Farm
and agricultural conservation land" means either:
(i) Land previously classified as farm and
agricultural land that no longer meets the criteria and is reclassified as open
space land; or
(ii) Traditional
farmland that is not classified under chapter 84.33 or 84.34 RCW, has not been
irrevocably devoted to a use inconsistent with agricultural uses, and has a
high potential for returning to commercial agriculture.
(w) "Farm and agricultural land" means:
(i) Any parcel of land 20 or more acres in
size or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and total 20 or more acres
in size when the lands are:
(A) Primarily used
to produce agricultural products for commercial agricultural
purposes;
(B) Enrolled in the
federal conservation reserve program or its successor administered by the
United States Department of Agriculture; or
(C) Primarily used for other commercial
agricultural purposes as established by rule.
(ii) Any parcel of land or contiguous parcels
of land at least five acres, but less than 20 acres in size that are primarily
used for commercial agricultural purposes, and produce a gross income equal to:
(A) One hundred dollars or more in cash per
acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of
application for classification when the application was made prior to January
1, 1993; or
(B) Two hundred dollars
or more in cash per acre per year for three of the five calendar years
preceding the date of application for classification when the application is
made on or after January 1, 1993.
For the purposes of meeting the minimum gross income
requirements as described in (w)(ii)(A) and (B) of this subsection for leased
classified farm and agricultural land, the owner may use either the cash income
received from leasing his or her classified farm and agricultural land, or the
cash income received by the lessee for the production of the agricultural
product on the owner's classified farm and agricultural land.
(iii) Any parcel of land or
contiguous parcels of land at least five acres, but less than 20 acres in size
that are primarily used for commercial agricultural purposes and that have:
(A) Standing crops with an expectation of
harvest within seven years and a demonstrable investment in the production of
those crops equivalent to $100 or more per acre in the current or previous
calendar year; or
(B) Standing
crops of short rotation hardwoods with an expectation of harvest within 15
years and a demonstrable investment in the production of those crops equivalent
to $100 or more per acre in the current or previous calendar year.
For the purposes of meeting the minimum investment requirements
as described in (w)(iii)(A) and (B) of this subsection for leased classified
farm and agricultural land, the owner may use either the cash income received
from leasing his or her classified farm and agricultural land, or the cash
income invested by the lessee in the production of the standing crop on the
owner's classified farm and agricultural land.
(iv) Any parcel of land or contiguous parcels
of land less than five acres in size that are primarily used for commercial
agricultural purposes, and produce a gross income equal to:
(A) One thousand dollars or more in cash per
year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for
classification when the application was made prior to January 1, 1993;
or
(B) One thousand five hundred
dollars or more in cash per year for three of the five calendar years preceding
the date of application for classification when the application is made on or
after January 1, 1993.
For the purposes of meeting the minimum gross income
requirements as described in (w)(iv)(A) and (B) of this subsection for leased
classified farm and agricultural land, the owner may use either the cash income
received from leasing his or her classified farm and agricultural land, or the
cash income received by the lessee for the production of the agricultural
product on the owner's classified farm and agricultural land.
(v) Farm and agricultural land
also includes:
(A) Land on which employee
housing or the principal residence of the farm owner or operator is located, if
the housing or residence is on or contiguous to a classified farm and
agricultural land parcel of 20 acres or more or multiple parcels that are
contiguous and total 20 acres or more, and the use of the housing or residence
is integral to the use of the classified farm and agricultural land for
commercial agricultural purposes;
(B) Land on which appurtenances necessary for
the production, preparation, or sale of the agricultural products are situated
when the appurtenances are used in conjunction with the land(s) producing
agricultural products, such as a machinery maintenance shed or a shipping
facility located on farm and agricultural land that produces the products to be
shipped;
(C) Land incidentally used
for an activity or enterprise that is compatible with commercial agricultural
purposes as long as the incidental use does not exceed 20 percent of the
classified land. An incidental use of classified farm and agricultural land may
include, but is not limited to, wetland preservation, a gravel pit, a farm
woodlot, or a produce stand;
(D) A
noncontiguous parcel of land from one to five acres in size that constitutes an
integral part of the commercial agricultural operation being conducted on land
qualifying as "farm and agricultural land." As used in this paragraph,
noncontiguous means not adjoining or touching but held by the same ownership as
defined in
RCW
84.34.020;
(E) Land used primarily for equestrian
related activities for which a charge is made including, but not limited to,
stabling, training, riding, clinics, schooling, shows, or grazing for feed and
that otherwise meets the requirements in (w)(i), (ii), or (iv) of this
subsection; or
(F) Land used
primarily for horticultural purposes including growing plants in the ground or
in a container, regardless of whether under a structure, such as a greenhouse,
subject to the following:
(I) The land is not
primarily used for the storage, care, or selling of plants purchased from other
growers for retail sale;
(II) If
the land is less than five acres and used primarily to grow plants in
containers, such land does not qualify as "farm and agricultural land" if more
than 25 percent of the land used primarily to grow plants in containers is open
to the general public for on-site retail sales;
(III) If more than 20 percent of the land
used for growing plants in containers is covered by pavement, none of the paved
area is eligible for classification as "farm and agricultural land." However,
this limitation does not prevent up to 20 percent of the paved area from
qualifying as "incidental use" as described in (bb) of this subsection;
and
(IV) If the land classified
under (w)(v)(F) of this subsection, in addition to any contiguous land
classified under (w) of this subsection, is less than 20 acres, it must meet
the applicable income or investment requirements described in (w)(ii), (iii),
or (iv) of this subsection.
(x) "Farm employee or farm and agricultural
employee" means an individual who is employed on farm and agricultural land on
a fulltime basis or a seasonal or migratory worker who works on farm and
agricultural land only during the planting, growing, and/or harvesting seasons.
For purposes of (x) of this subsection, "full-time basis" refers to an
individual who is employed at least 25 hours per week on farm and agricultural
land. It does not include a person who is employed full time by a business
activity that is not conducted on classified farm and agricultural land and who
only works occasional weekends or during the harvest season on classified farm
and agricultural land.
(y) "Farm
woodlot" means an area of land within a parcel(s) of classified farm and
agricultural land that is used in a manner compatible with commercial
agricultural purposes including, but not limited to, the growing and cutting of
trees for the use of the owner or the sheltering of livestock.
(z) "Granting authority" means the
appropriate agency or official that acts on an application for classification
or reclassification under chapter 84.34 RCW. The granting authority for:
(i) Open space land classification under
RCW
84.34.020(1) and
84.34.037 is the county
legislative authority. However, for applications within an incorporated area of
a county, the granting authority is made up of three members of the county
legislative authority and three members of the city legislative authority in
the county in which the land is located in a meeting where members may be
physically absent but participating through telephonic connection or separate
affirmative acts by both the county and city legislative authorities where both
affirm the entirety of the application either without modification or with
identical modifications;
(ii) Farm
and agricultural land classification under
RCW
84.34.020(2) and
84.34.035 is the assessor or the
assessor's designee; and
(iii)
Timber land classification under
RCW
84.34.020(3) and
84.34.041 is the county
legislative authority. However, for applications within an incorporated area of
a county, the granting authority is made up of three members of the county
legislative authority and three members of the city legislative authority in
the county in which the land is located in a meeting where members may be
physically absent but participating through telephonic connection or separate
affirmative acts by both the county and city legislative authorities where both
affirm the entirety of the application either without modification or with
identical modifications.
(aa) "Gross income" means cash income derived
from commercial agricultural purposes, as defined in (n) of this subsection.
Gross income includes payments received from the United States Department of
Agriculture for participating in a crop reduction or acreage set-aside program
when such payments are based on the productive capacity of the land. It also
includes the wholesale value of agricultural products produced from any parcel
of classified land of at least five acres but less than 20 acres in which the
agricultural products are donated to nonprofit food banks or feeding programs.
The term does not include the following:
(i)
The value of any products produced on the land and consumed by the owner or
lessee;
(ii) Cash income derived
from leases for the use of the land for noncommercial agricultural
purposes;
(iii) Payments for soil
conservation programs; or
(iv) The
value represented from an exchange of goods or services for other goods or
services (bartering).
(bb) "Incidental use" means a use of land
classified as farm and agricultural land or timber land that is compatible with
commercial agricultural purposes or the commercial growing and harvesting of
timber. Incidental use for land classified as farm and agricultural land cannot
exceed 20 percent of the total classified land, while incidental use for timber
land cannot exceed 10 percent of the total classified land. An incidental use
may include, but is not limited to, wetland preservation, a gravel pit, a farm
woodlot, or a produce stand.
(cc)
"Integral" means that which is central to or inherent in the use or operation
of classified farm and agricultural land for commercial agricultural purposes.
To be considered integral to the farming operation, the residence of the farm
operator or owner and/or housing for farm employees must be the place(s) from
which the farmer conducts his/her commercial agricultural business.
(dd) "Interest" means the amount of
applicable interest upon additional tax.
(ee) "Net cash rental" means the earning or
productive capacity of farm and agricultural land less the production costs
customarily or typically paid by an owner or landlord. See WAC
458-30-260 for a more detailed
explanation of net cash rental.
(ff) "Notice of continuance" means the notice
signed when land classified under chapter 84.34 RCW is sold or transferred if
the new owner of the land intends to continue the classified use of the land
and elects to have the land remain classified under chapter 84.34 RCW. This
notice is part of the real estate excise tax affidavit or may be a separate
document prepared by the department and attached to this affidavit.
(gg) "Open space land" means one of the
following:
(i) Any parcel(s) of land so
designated by an official comprehensive land use plan adopted by any city or
county and zoned accordingly;
(ii)
Any parcel(s) of land, by preserving it in its present use would either:
(A) Conserve and enhance natural or scenic
resources;
(B) Protect streams or
water supply;
(C) Promote
conservation of soils, wetlands, beaches, or tidal marshes;
(D) Enhance the value to the public of
abutting or neighboring parks, forests, wildlife preserves, nature reservations
or sanctuaries, or other open space;
(E) Enhance recreation
opportunities;
(F) Preserve
historic sites;
(G) Preserve visual
quality along highway, road, or street corridors, or scenic vistas;
(H) Retain in its natural state, tracts of
land of not less than one acre in size situated in an urban area and open to
public use on such conditions as may be reasonably required by the granting
authority; or
(iii) Any
parcel(s) of farm and agricultural conservation land.
(hh) "Owner" means:
(i) Any person(s) having a fee interest in a
parcel of land; or
(ii) The
contract vendee when the land is subject to a real estate contract.
(ii) "Parcel of land" means a
property identified as such on the assessment roll. For purposes of chapter
84.34 RCW and this WAC chapter, a parcel does not include any land area not
owned by the applicant including, but not limited to, a public road, right of
way, railroad, or waterway.
(jj)
"Penalty" means the amount due when land is removed from classification under
chapter 84.34 RCW. The amount of the penalty is equal to 20 percent of the
additional tax and interest calculated in accordance with
RCW
84.34.080 or
84.34.108.
(kk) "Planning authority" means the local
government agency empowered by the appropriate legislative authority to develop
policies and proposals relating to land use.
(ll) "Primary use" means the existing use of
a parcel or parcels of land so prevalent that when the characteristic use of
the land is evaluated a conflicting or nonrelated use appears to be very
limited or excluded. The primary use of a parcel does not represent a specific
percentage of the total classified land.
(mm) "Qualification of land" means the
approval of an application for classification or reclassification of land by a
granting authority in accordance with chapter 84.34 RCW.
(nn) "Rating system" means a public benefit
rating system adopted for classified open space land according to
RCW
84.34.055.
(oo) "Reclassification" means the process by
which land classified under chapter 84.34 or 84.33 RCW is changed from one
classification to a different classification established by chapter 84.34 RCW
or into forest land as described in chapter 84.33 RCW. For example, land
classified as farm and agricultural land under
RCW
84.34.020(2) may be
reclassified as open space land under
RCW
84.34.020(1).
(pp) "Removal" or "removed" means land
classified under chapter 84.34 RCW is removed from classification by the
assessor because the owner requests removal, the new owner fails to sign the
notice of continuance, the assessor does not approve a notice of continuance,
or the land is no longer being used for the purpose for which classification
was granted.
(qq) "Sale of
ownership" means the conveyance of the ownership of a parcel of land in
exchange for valuable consideration.
(rr) "Standing crop" includes short rotation
hardwoods, Christmas trees, vineyards, fruit trees, or other perennial crops
that:
(i) Are planted using agricultural
methods normally used in the commercial production of that particular crop;
and
(ii) Typically do not produce
harvestable quantities in the initial years after planting.
(ss) "Tax year" means the year
when property tax is due and payable.
(tt) "Timber land" means any parcel of land,
five or more acres in size, or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and
total five or more acres in size, that are primarily used for the commercial
growth and harvesting of forest crops.
(i)
Timber land refers only to the land and also includes:
(A) Land incidentally used for an activity or
enterprise that is compatible with the commercial growing and harvesting of
timber as long as the incidental use does not exceed 10 percent of the
classified land; and
(B) Land on
which appurtenances necessary for the production, preparation, or sale of
commercial timber products are situated when the appurtenances are used in
conjunction with the land(s) producing timber products.
(ii) Timber land does not include:
(A) Land listed on the assessment roll as
designated forest land according to chapter 84.33 RCW;
(B) Land on which nonforest crops are
located; or
(C) Land used as a
residential home site.
(uu) "Timber management plan" is synonymous
with a "forest management plan" and details an owner's plan regarding the
management of classified timber land including, but not limited to, the
planting, growing and/or harvesting of timber. The elements of such a plan are
set forth in WAC
458-30-232.
(vv) "Transfer" means the conveyance of the
ownership of a parcel of land without an exchange of valuable consideration and
may include situations where classified land is donated to an owner,
corporation, partnership, or limited liability corporation.
(ww) "True and fair value" is the value of a
parcel of land placed on the assessment rolls at its highest and best use
without regard to its current use. The term also refers to market value, that
is, the amount of money a buyer of property willing, but not obligated to buy
would pay a seller of property willing but not obligated to sell, taking into
consideration all uses to which the property is adapted and might reasonably be
applied.
(xx) "Withdrawal" or
"withdrawn" means action taken by the owner of land classified under chapter
84.34 RCW by filing a notice of request to withdraw the land from
classification under the current use program in compliance with
RCW
84.34.070. Once land has been classified
under chapter 84.34 RCW, it must remain classified for at least 10 assessment
years from the date of classification. After the initial 10-year classification
period has elapsed, the owner may file a notice of request to withdraw all or a
portion of the land from classification with the assessor of the county in
which the land is located. Land is withdrawn from classification as a result of
a voluntary act by the owner. However, if the assessor has given written notice
of removal as provided in
RCW
84.34.108(1)(d)(i) for all
or a portion of the land prior to the owner providing the assessor with a
request for withdrawal, then the land will be removed from
classification.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
84.08.070 and
84.08.010(2).
12-07-059, § 458-30-200, filed 3/19/12, effective 4/19/12. Statutory
Authority:
RCW
84.34.141,
84.34.020, and
84.34.030. 02-20-041, §
458-30-200, filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02. Statutory Authority:
RCW
84.34.141. 01-24-030, § 458-30-200,
filed 11/27/01, effective 12/28/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 84.08.110,
84.08.070,
84.34.141 and
84.34.360. 95-21-002, §
458-30-200, filed 10/4/95, effective 11/4/95. Statutory Authority:
RCW
84.08.010 and
84.08.070. 90-24-087, §
458-30-200, filed 12/5/90, effective 1/5/91. Statutory Authority:
RCW
84.08.010(2),
84.34.141 and
chapter
84.34 RCW. 88-23-062
(Order PT 88-12), § 458-30-200, filed
11/15/88.