I am writing to comment on the mitigated determination of nonsignificance for the A. F. Evans multifamily project. The Middlefork S Ranch borders this land planned for high-density housing. Farming is a disappearing land use in our region, and one of the strong forces against farming is the pressures and attitudes of urban neighbors. It would be responsible of the city of North Bend to protect nearby farming as a part of its growth plans on this development by establishing a permanent buffer to separate the new development from the farm.

When urban development goes in adjacent to farm activities, the new neighbors often do not understand or respect agricultural land uses. Except for the appreciation of the postcard image of a cow in a pasture, many urban residents see farming as a dirty, stinky nuisance. To address this, urban residents will complain to local government about the “problems” of agriculture.

In our work at the King Conservation District we develop farm management plans to help farmers be responsible stewards of their land and water resources. I have met many landowners who are struggling on the rural/urban interface. One farmer has been raising horses on his small farm for 50 years. Since he has lived there, many of the neighboring properties have gradually been developed for urban housing density. Recently, a new neighbor was complaining to him that she didn’t like the way his place “looked” and wondered when he would sell it for development. He was hoping to leave the farm for his children so they could continue to raise and keep horses, so his neighbor’s attitude really offended him.

This type of attitude toward farmers and their land use is not rare. When I became aware of the development planned for North Bend, it sounded like the city had an opportunity to take simple actions to demonstrate that it valued farm land and wanted to protect it as a viable land use in appropriately zoned areas. By requiring that this development provide an adequate buffer between the new urban land development and the existing agricultural activities, the city could show clear support for farming. In my experience, a 25- to 50-foot vegetated conifer buffer with a fence would work well for this situation.

Joshua Monaghan

Lead Farm Planner

King Conservation District