HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO Comment - Charlotte Frederickson
PO Box 1012
www.onestrawranch.com Chimacum, WA 98325 360.531.0404
12/16/2025
To: Jefferson County Department of Community Development
Re: Jefferson County Critical Areas Ordinance update 18.22.800
As a full-time farm business with over a decade of experience farming in Jefferson County, we are
concerned about both the proposed changes and the existing language in the Agriculture Exemption,
Section 3a.
Foremost, the addition of “Existing and on-going” to “agricultural activities” is a change that should be
eliminated.
This wording is significantly more restrictive and has potential to further reduce the amount of land that
is farmable in Jefferson County. The wording is also vague, undefined, and open to interpretation.
This wording could be interpreted as “use it or lose it,” and also appears to prohibit new farms from
farming these areas, even if another farm has been using it for decades.
We need more farms to feed our local community, not fewer. Therefore, we should be finding ways to
support all farms, including new farms - not looking for ways to edge them off of productive land.
“Adverse impacts” is also a statement that is vague and subject to interpretation. Just because there is
an impact, it does not necessarily mean it is adverse. Who will be making that judgement, and from
what lens?
As regenerative farmers, we know that farming, habitat and care of critical areas are not mutually
exclusive.
In fact, they’re fully compatible and mutually beneficial.
There are "critical areas" on land we farm, but we don’t destroy these areas. Rather, we promote and
create wildlife habitat with our ecological farming practices. And we know that the productivity of our
farm benefits from proximity to these areas.
This community says it wants to support and promote local food. In fact, we frequently hear that one of
our collective main priorities is local food security.
As firsthand experience of this fact, we have a thriving and highly supportive customer base – hundreds
of families - who demand clean, healthy, local food.
PO Box 1012
www.onestrawranch.com Chimacum, WA 98325 360.531.0404
Local food security means local farmers being allowed to farm their land.
This ordinance, as written in the draft, threatens to affect our operations and those of other local
farms who feed our community.
Please remove the proposed additional language of “Existing and ongoing.”
We also request you remove the sentence, “provided, the agricultural activity does not result in adverse
impacts to a critical area or its associated buffer.”
Let’s help secure the future of farms and local food in Jefferson County.
Sincerely,
Charlotte & Martin Frederickson
Owners/Operators
One Straw Ranch
Chimacum, WA
charlotte@onestrawranch.com