PORT ANGELES — The Clallam Conservation District has added amendments to its resolution for charging $5 per parcel per year.
Board members approved the amendments during their meeting Tuesday afternoon. The amendments came as the result of the public hearing for the resolution before the Clallam County Commissioners.
The first amendment adds a term and sunset period to the resolution, which will be effective for 10 calendar years from 2026 through 2035 and will terminate at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31, 2035.
“Upon expiration, no further rates and charges shall be collected under this Resolution unless and until such system is reauthorized by subsequent resolution of the Board of Clallam County Commissioners,” the amendment states.
The second amendment addresses accountability, reporting and measures of success by having the district provide an annual public reporting on the use of rates and charges funds.
The conservation district will report on the following metrics, according to the resolution:
• Total state and federal funds secured for Clallam County as a result of conservation district activities.
• Number of grants secured.
• Total dollars of financial assistance (cost-share and other programs) passed through to community members.
• Number of community members engaged and served through conservation district services (technical assistance, site visits, workshops, outreach events).
• Acres treated or restored with best management practices (e.g., riparian buffer acres, pasture/soil improvements).
• Water conservation activities.
• When available, key water-quality indicators with baseline values and direction of change.
• Local economic impact (local contractor dollars paid, jobs supported or created, and number of local hires on conservation district projects).
• Administrative metrics: percent of rates-and-charges revenues spent on direct programs vs. administrative overhead, and a summary of compliance-related expenditures.
The final amendment states this is a fixed rate with no escalation.
“The per-parcel rate set by this Resolution is fixed at maximum of $5 per parcel per year for the entire term of this rates-and-charges system (through Dec. 31, 2035) and shall not be increased, adjusted, indexed, or escalated during that term,” according to the resolution amendment.
Board members were told that Clallam County Commissioner Mark Ozias reviewed the amendments and said all the requested changes were included.
This is the first time in the district’s 60-year history that it plans to charge parcels in Clallam County. The resolution states that lands which are used for residential will be charged $5 per parcel per year, while commercial, agricultural and institutional/public use lands will be charged $4.90 per parcel per year and open space land use will be charged $4.89 per parcel per year. Resource designated forest land will be charged $2.93 per parcel per year.
The resolution allows for some exemptions. Federal and tribal trust lands are exempt as are low-income senior and disabled exemption tax program lands and private properties that are wholly under the jurisdiction of the federal government, according to the resolution.
The resolution would need to be approved by the Clallam County commissioners before it would go into effect.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
