The Rural Lands Study began in September 2011 and continued into 2013. The Study consisted of three phases.

Phase 1:

• Identify rural land trends in Clark County.
• Analyze market and economic research for agriculture and forest products and Current Use Taxation Program. The market analysis identified major forces shaping rural land use in Clark County.
• Evaluate rural land use policies - Land use policies in the Clark County Comprehensive Plan Rural Element and the recommendations included in the Agriculture Preservation Strategies Report and the Rural Lands Task Force Recommendations Report (March 2010) were evaluated. This review helped to identify prospects for new initiatives.
• Review transfer of development rights (TDR) programs.
  • Attachment A: Policy Review and Situation Assessment
  • Attachment B: Assessment of Agriculture and Forestry in Clark County
  • Attachment C: Transfer of Development Rights Program Framework
  • Attachment D: Review of Current Use Taxation Program

Phase 2:

Examine policy ideas that support preservation of rural lands and economic opportunities.
This phase resulted in a series of policy options that were presented to the Board in a work session on June 27, 2012.

• Discussion Draft: Draft Policy Options 06/22/2012

The Board directed staff to focus on the following in the short term:

• A homesteading provision;
• Clustering on resource lands;
• A rural planned unit development (PUD) provision;
• An analysis of minimum parcel sizes for resource lands; and
• Rural centers.

The Board expressed interest in the following as items that could be combined with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update:

• A transfer of development rights (TDR) program;
• Agriculture production district / Rural reserve district; and
• A public benefit rating system for the current use open space program

Phase 3:

Policy recommendations were drafted for further consideration by the public, the Clark County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.

County staff are working on developing policy and code language for public review. A joint meeting of the Board and the Planning Commission was held Oct. 16, 2012 to get input from rural residents. View the meeting presentation.