Open Space/Current Use
Information
The Open Space Taxation Act, enacted in 1970,
allows property owners to have their open space,
farm and agricultural, and timberlands valued at
their current use rather than their highest and
best use. The Act states that it is in the best
interest of the State to maintain, preserve,
conserve, and otherwise continue in existence
adequate open space lands for the production of
food, fiber, and forest crops and to assure the
use and enjoyment of natural resources and
scenic beauty for the economic and social
well-being of the State and its citizens.
What Land Qualify for Classifications
The law provides three classifications:
Open Space land is defined as
either:
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Any land area zoned for open space by a
comprehensive land use plan adopted by city
or county legislative authority, or
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Any land area in which the preservation
in its present use would:
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Conserve and enhance natural or
scenic resources,
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Protect streams or water supply,
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Promote conservation of soils,
wetlands, beaches or tidal marshes,
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Enhance the value to the public of
abutting or neighboring parks, forest,
wildlife preserves, nature reservations
or sanctuaries, or other open space,
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Enhance recreation opportunities,
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Preserve historic sites,
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Preserve visual quality along
highway, road, and street corridor or
scenic vistas, or
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Retain in its natural state tracts
of land not less than one acre situated
in an urban area and open to public use
on such conditions as may be reasonably
required by the granting authority.
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Or, any land meeting the definition of
"farm and agricultural conservation land"
which means either:
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Land previously classified under
farm and agriculture classification that
no longer meets the criteria and is
reclassified under open space land, or
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"Traditional Farmland", not
classified, that has not been
irrevocably devoted to a use
inconsistent with agricultural uses, and
that has a high potential for returning
to commercial agriculture.
Farm and Agricultural land is
defined as either:
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Any parcel of land that is twenty or
more acres or multiple parcels of land that
are contiguous and total twenty or more
acres
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Devoted primarily to the production
of livestock or agricultural commodities
for commercial purposes,
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Enrolled in a cropland retirement
program administered by the United
States Department of Agriculture,
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Any parcel of land that is five acres or
more but less than twenty acres devoted
primarily to agricultural uses equivalent
to:
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One hundred dollars ($100) or more
per acre per year for three of the five
calendar years preceding the date of
application for classification made
prior to January 1, 1993, and
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On or after January 1, 1993, two
hundred dollars ($200) or more per acre
per year for three of the five calendar
years preceding the date of application
for classification:
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Any parcel of land of less than five
acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses
which has produced a gross income of:
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One thousand dollars ($1,000) or
more per year for three of the five
calendar years preceding the date of
application made prior to January 1,
1993, and
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On or after January 1, 1993, fifteen
hundred dollars ($1,500) or more per
year for three of the five calendar
years preceding the date of application
for classification.
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"Farm and agricultural land" also
includes:
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Incidental uses compatible with
agricultural purposes provided such use
does not exceed twenty percent of the
classified land:
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Land on which appurtenances
necessary for production, preparation,
or sale of agricultural products exist
in conjunction with the land producing
such products;
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Any noncontiguous parcel one to five
acres, that is an integral part of the
farming operations.
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Land on which housing for employees
and principal place of residence of the
farm operation or owner is sited
provided the use of the housing or
residence is integral to the use of the
classified land for agricultural
purposes and provided that the
classified parcel is twenty or more
acres.
Timber Land means any parcel of land that is
five or more acres or multiple parcels of land
that are contiguous and total five or more acres
which is or are devoted primarily to the growth
and harvest of forest crops for commercial
purposes.
An owner or contract purchaser may apply for
current use assessment under the open space law.
However, all owners or contract purchasers must
sign the application for classification, and any
resulting agreement. Application forms are
available from the County Assessor’s office or
from the County Planning office.
Applications may be made for classification
at any time during the year from January 1st
through December 31st. Current use
valuation assessment begins on January 1st
in the year following the year application was
filed.
Farm and Agricultural land classification is
filed with the assessor of the county where the
property is located.
Open Space and timberland classification is
filed with the county legislative authority.
Timberland applications require that a timber
management plan also be filed.
The city or county legislative authority may, at
their discretion, require a processing fee to accompany each
application. Such fee shall be in an amount that reasonably
covers the processing cost of the application. Application fee
for Grant County is $150.00
Assessor to Respond to Farm & Agricultural
Classification Applications
The Assessor shall act on each application
for classification as farm and agricultural with
due regard to all relevant evidence, and may
approve the application in whole or in part.
Upon application for classification, the
Assessor may require applicants to provide data
regarding the use of such land, including the
productivity of typical crops, sales receipts,
federal income tax returns, other related income
and expense data and any other information
relevant to the application.
The application shall be considered approved
unless the Assessor notifies the applicant in
writing prior to May 1st of the year
following the year the application was made.
The Assessor shall record and approval of
classification with the County Auditor for
public recording and the tax lien on real
property.
Appealing Denial of Farm & Agricultural
Application
The owner may appeal the Assessor’s denial to
the Board of Equalization in the county where
the property is located. The appeal must be
filed with the Board within thirty days after
the mailing of the notice of denial.
Open Space Land Applications Acted on by
Granting Authority within Six Months
Applications for classification or
reclassification as "open space land" are made
to the appropriate agency or official called the
"Granting Authority". If the open space is
located in the county’s unincorporated area, the
county legislative authority shall be the
granting authority on the application. However,
if the land is located within a city or town,
the application shall be acted upon by a joint
county/city legislative authority consisting of
three members of the county legislative
authority and three members of the city
legislative authority.
If a comprehensive plan has been enacted, an
application for classification or
reclassification shall be processed as a
proposed amendment to that plan. If there is no
comprehensive land use plan, a public hearing on
the application shall be conducted after notice
announcing the hearing is published at least ten
days prior to the hearing.
The Granting Authority shall either approve
or reject the application in whole or in part
within six months form the receipt of the
application. In determining whether an
application made for classification or
reclassification should be approved or
disapproved, the granting authority may consider
the benefits to the general welfare of
preserving the current use of the property. They
may require that certain conditions be met
including but not limited to the granting of
easements.
If approved, in whole or in part, the
granting authority shall, within five (5) days
of the approval date, send a Open Space Taxation
Agreement to the applicant for signature showing
the land classification and conditions imposed.
The applicant may accept or reject the
agreement. If the applicant accepts, he or she
must sign and return the agreement to the
granting authority within twenty-five (25) days
after the mailing of the agreement.
The granting or denial of the application for
classification or reclassification us a
legislative determination and shall be
reviewable only for arbitrary and capricious
actions. Appeal can be made only to the superior
court of the county where the application was
filed.
Within ten (10) days of receiving notice from
the granting authority of classification of
land, the Assessor submits such notice to the
County Auditor for recording in the place and
manner proved for the public recording of state
tax liens on real property.
Current use valuation will begin on January 1st
of the year following the year the application
was filed. The criteria for classification
continues to apply after classification has been
granted.
Open Space Land Public Benefit Rating System
If the county legislative authority has
established a public benefit rating system for
the Open Space classification, the criteria
contained within the rating system shall govern
the eligibility of the lands described in each
application filed for that classification and
the current use valuation of that land.
When a county creates a benefit rating
system, all current use applications will be
rated under the new system. A parcel that no
longer qualifies for classification will not be
removed from classification but will be rated
according to the rating system.
The owner, within thirty (30) days after
receiving notification of the new value
established by the public benefit rating system,
may request removal of classification of such
parcel without application of the additional tax
or penalty.
Timberland Classification Requires Forest
Management Plan
Applications for current use timberland
classification are made to the county
legislative authority. A timber management plan
is filed at the time of application or when a
sale or transfer of timberland occurs and a
notice of continuance is signed.
Classification shall be acted upon after
public hearing in a similar manner to open space
land classification within six (6) months
following the date the application is received.
Granting or denial of an application is a
legislative determination and shall be
reviewable only for arbitrary and capricious
action. The granting authority may not require
the granting of easements for timberland.
The application form requires information
about a forest management plan, restocking, fire
protection, insect and disease control, weed
control, and any other summary of experience and
activity that supports the growth and harvest of
forest crops for commercial purpose.
The Assessor is required to maintain two
values for each parcel that is classified. The
first is the value that would be placed on the
land if it was not classified. This is commonly
referred to as the "fair market value". The
second is the current use land value based on
its present use as classified by the granting
authority. The process for determining the value
of open space lands is spelled out in stature.
The Assessor shall consider only the use to
which such property is currently applied and
shall not consider potential uses of such
property.
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Open space land located within a county
that has established a public benefit rating
system will be valued according to the
criteria of the rating system. In absence of
a rating system, the valuation will be no
less than that for farm and agricultural
land.
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In determining the current use value of
farm and agricultural land the Assessor
shall consider the earning or productive
capacity of comparable lands from crops
grown most typically in the area averaged
over not less than five (5) years. This
earning or productive capacity shall be the
"net cash rental" and shall be capitalized
by a "rate of interest" charged on long term
loans secured by a mortgage on farm or
agricultural land plus a component for
property taxes.
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Timber land is valued according to the
schedule prepared by the Department of
Revenue for the Timber Tax law, Chapter
84.33 RCW.
Potential Tax Liability – Length of Time in
Classification
When land is classified as either farm and
agricultural land, open space, or timberland, it
shall not be applied to any other use for a
period of not less than ten years, unless
transferred or reclassified into another current
use classification, or an early withdrawal
penalty will apply. The land continues in
current use classification after the ten year
period until a request for withdrawal is made by
the owner, the use of land no longer complies,
or the ownership has changed and the new owner
has not signed a Notice of Continuance. The
notice of classification is recorded with the
County Auditor in the same manner as the
recording of state tax liens on real property.
When classified land is sold, the seller or
transferor becomes liable at the time of sale
for the additional tax, interest, and penalty
unless the new owner(s) signs the Notice of
Continuance which is attached to or shown on the
excise tax affidavit. The County Auditor shall
not accept an instrument of conveyance on any
classified land unless the Notice of Continuance
has been signed or the additional tax had been
paid. The Assessor shall determine if the land
qualifies for continued classification.
Owner May Request Withdrawal
If the owner intends to withdraw all or a
portion of the land from classification after
ten years, two years prior notice must be given
to County Assessor. This notice can be filed
after the eighth assessment year of the initial
ten year classification period. If a portion of
a parcel is removed from classification, the
remaining portion must meet the requirements of
original classification unless the remaining
parcel has different income criteria.
Upon receipt of a request for withdrawal, the
Assessor shall notify the legislative authority,
which originally approved the classification
and, when two years have elapsed; the Assessor
shall withdraw the land from classification. The
land which is withdrawn from classification
shall be subject to an additional tax equal to
the difference between the amount of tax paid
under the classification and the tax at true and
fair value for the last seven years, plus
interest at the statutory rate charged on
delinquent property taxes.
Owner to Notify Assessor of Change in Use
An owner changing the use of land from a
classified use must notify the County Assessor
within sixty days of this action. The Assessor
shall remove the land from classified status and
impose and additional tax equal to the
difference between the tax paid on current use
value and the tax that would have been paid on
that land had it not been so classified, payable
for the last seven years, plus interest at the
same rate as charged on delinquent property
taxes, plus a penalty of twenty percent of the
total amount.
Taxes Allocated to Portion of Year
Assessed valuation before and after removal
of classification shall be listed and allocated
according to that part of the year to which each
assessed valuation applies.
Criteria for Classification Continues to
Apply After Classification Has Been Granted
Owner of classified land must continue to
meet the criteria established for classification
or the Assessor may remove the land from the
current use classification.
After giving the owner written notice and an
opportunity to be heard, the Assessor may
determine that all or a portion of the land no
longer meets the criteria for classification.
Removal of Land Classification by County
Assessor May be Appealed
Within thirty days after the removal from
classification, the Assessor shall notify the
owner in writing explaining the reasons for
removal. The owner has thirty days following the
date the notice was mailed by the Assessor to
file an appeal of the removal of classification
to the County Board of Equalization.
At the time land is removed from
classification it becomes subject to any
additional tax, applicable interest, and a
penalty which shall be due and payable to the
County Treasurer within thirty days after the
owner is notified. The penalty is not imposed if
the removal satisfies the ten year requirement.
Any additional tax, applicable interest, and
penalty, becomes a lien on the land at the time
the land is removed from classification. This
lien shall have priority over any other
encumbrance on the land. Such lien may be
foreclosed upon expiration of the same period
after delinquency in the same manner as
delinquent real property taxes.
Distribution of Additional Taxes
Upon collection, the additional tax shall be
distributed by the County Treasurer in the same
manner in which current taxes applicable to the
subject land are distributed.
When Removal of Land is Not Subject to
Additional Tax
The additional tax, applicable interest, and
penalty shall not be imposed if the removal of
classification results solely from:
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Land is transferred to a government
entity in exchange for other land located in
the State of Washington.
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Land taken through the exercise of the
power of eminent domain, or sale or
transferred in anticipation of the exercise
of such power was received in writing or by
other official action;
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A natural disaster changes the use of
such land;
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Official action by the State, County, or
City disallows the present use of such land;
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Transfer of land to a church when such
land would qualify for exemptions granted
thereto;
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Acquisition of property interests by
State Agencies or Agencies or organization
qualified under RCW 84.34.210 and 64.04.130
(See RCW 84.34.108(5f)); or
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Removal of land classified as farm and
agricultural land on which housing for
employees and or principal place of
residence is sited.
Transfers Between Classifications and
Reclassifications
Land may be reclassified, upon request by the
owner, subject to all applicable qualifications
for each classification, without additional tax,
interest, or penalty for the following:
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Land classified as farm and agricultural
land may be reclassified to timberland;
timberland may be reclassified to farm and
agricultural land.
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Land classified as either farm and
agricultural, timberland or forestland under
chapter 84.33 RCW may be reclassified to
open space land.
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Land classified as farm and agricultural
land or timberland may be reclassified to
forestland under chapter 84.33 RCW.
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Land previously classified as farm and
agricultural land may be reclassified to
open space land as "farm and agricultural
conservation land" and reclassified back to
farm and agricultural land classification.
The application for transfer from classified
or designated forestland to a current use
classification must be made within 30 days from
the date of removal from forestland status.
Reclassification Approvals:
Reclassification approvals are acted on in the
same manner as approvals for classification. The
County Assessor approves all applications for
farm and agricultural classifications and
reclassifications. The granting authority
approves all land classifications or
reclassifications for timberland or open space
land. Land being reclassified into farm and
agricultural land classifications or less than
20 acres from open space "farm and agricultural
conservation land", timber land, or forest land
may have the income requirements deferred for a
period of up to five years from the date of the
reclassification.
When Land is Valued at Current Use
Land which is classified as open space, farm
and agricultural, or timberland shall be
assessed at its current use value and placed on
the assessment rolls in the year following the
year of application.
Taxes upon classified land shall be due and
payable in the year following the year the land
was valued at its current use and placed on the
assessment rolls.
The county legislative authority shall
appoint a five member committee representing the
active farming community within the county. The
committee shall advise the Assessor in the
assessment of farm and agricultural land, and
timber land.
Assessor May Require Data
The Assessor may require the owner of
classified land to submit data regarding the use
of the land, productivity of typical crops,
income and expense data, and similar information
regarding continued eligibility.
Complete information concerning the
requirements and the manner for making
application for current use reclassification and
assessments is available at the Grant County
Assessor’s Office (509) 754-2011 extension 2683.
It is helpful to read the complete law (Chapter
84.33 and 84.34 RCW) and rules (Chapter 458-30
WAC) to understand requirements of the
classifications and the tax liabilities
incurred.