Council sets public hearing for agricultural leases on Conservation Land Bank properties

||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS |||

The County’s Conservation Land Bank has been working to develop agricultural leases for portions of the Beaverton Marsh and Frazer Homestead Preserves on San Juan Island. During today’s Council meeting, additional lease details were reviewed in advance of a public hearing set for February 11, 2025 at 9:00am to consider two resolutions authorizing multi-year leases of the preserves.  

Background    

Since the Land Bank’s inception, the program has acquired and preserved 5,000 acres of land, including 32 preserves that are open to the public and 400 agricultural acres leased to local farmers. 

In the fall and winter of 2023, the Land Bank put out a public request for long-term agricultural lease proposals for farmland portions of two San Juan Island preserves: Frazer Homestead and Beaverton Marsh. Several strong proposals were received. Following much deliberation, in the spring of 2024, the Land Bank selected a prospective lessee for each property.  

For the Frazer Homestead Preserve, the Shephard family has been chosen for a long-term grazing lease. Their vision for the Frazer Homestead Preserve is to have a sustainable livestock operation on the property which builds soil and ecosystem health, collaborates with Land Bank and other users and neighbors, and produces delicious affordable lamb and beef for sale in the San Juan Islands.   

For Beaverton Marsh Preserve, the San Juan Island Grange has been selected for the Overmarsh Farm Commons (OFC) project for a long-term lease up to 20 years. OFC is a cooperative enterprise where San Juan Islanders work and learn together to grow food on shared land, guided by regenerative agriculture principles. There will be opportunities for irrigated crops and perennials as well as dryland farming, grazing, and haying. Infrastructure will be improved and developed to support a diversity of farming activities as the project develops and grows. For more information visit the San Juan Island Grange website at sanjuangrange.org or email sanjuangrange@gmail.com. 

What’s Next? 

The Land Bank is excited to develop these relationships that will help steward our conserved working lands into the future, building a more resilient local food system. As the required steps have been completed, including advertising, assessing lease market rates, negotiation of the final terms, and review by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Land Bank staff are now bringing the leases to the County Council for approval after a public hearing. During the January 21, 2025 Council meeting, Council set a public hearing and discussed the two leases. All lease information can be found in the Council Agenda Packet located on the meeting page.  

For more information about Land Bank farmland, contact Charlie Behnke at charlieb@sjclandbank.org or (360) 830-7340. 

How to Participate in the Public Hearing:   

• Written comments may be submitted in advance of the hearing by mail, email, or at the hearing, or by delivery in-person.  Mail can be sent to 350 Court Street #1, Friday Harbor, WA 98250; email to councilpc@sanjuancountywa.gov.  
• You can attend the Council meeting in-person. You may speak in-person and sign-ups will be available in the room. The meeting will be held in the Council Hearing Room at 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA.   
• You can also call-in to make a comment. To call-in and sign-up for Public Comment, visit: https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/1879/Public-Comment-Signup. After signing up, call in at 9:00am to join meeting via telephone: +1 360-726-3293 Phone Conference ID: 630 068 600#  
• If you are watching or listening to the Council livestream, please turn it off when calling in for Public Comment.  
• You can access the livestream here: https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/   
• If you forget to sign up – no worries! Just make yourself known when the Council Chair asks for any additional comments.    

Note: The Council wants to hear your ideas or concerns. To ensure equal opportunity for the public to comment, comments may be limited in length. Each person may address the Council one time during the public comment period.  

Questions about the public hearing? Reach out to Clerk to the Council, Sally Rogers at sallyr@sanjuancountywa.gov?   

Questions about the Land Bank? Reach out to Tanja Williamson, Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator, tanjaw@sjclandbank.org, 360-378-4402 

About San Juan County’s Land Bank 

San Juan County’s Land Bank, funded by a 1% real estate excise tax paid by purchasers of property at closing, acquires and preserves areas in the county that have environmental, agricultural, aesthetic, cultural, scientific, historic, scenic, or low-intensity recreational value. The department offices are located at 328 Caines Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. For more information about San Juan County’s Land Bank, visit www.sjclandbank.org.