CHIMACUM — Saying Jefferson County has not complied with the state Growth Management Act, a group of farm and private landowners promoting voluntary land stewardship efforts has filed a petition challenging the county’s critical areas ordinance.
Represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, the Olympic Stewardship Foundation filed the petition last week, about two months after Jefferson County commissioners approved the ordinance debated over the past three years.
The petition was filed with the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, which reviews matters surrounding the state’s Growth Management Act.
“It’s regrettable that it is necessary to bring this action against Jefferson County, because we had repeatedly offered to support a [critical areas ordinance] that protected the county’s citizens as well as its ecosystems,” foundation president Jim Hagen said.
“Many highly qualified people worked extraordinarily hard to develop positive innovations for the resulting legislation.
“Unfortunately, there are areas of the ordinance where the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners were more responsive to the demands of outside interests than to the needs and hopes of the county’s citizens.”
