Parcel approved as open space

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 23, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — A classification of Jefferson Land Trust land to open space under the Open Space Tax Program will save the organization more than $20,000 in annual compensating taxes.

The Jefferson County commissioners approved a resolution on Monday that designates a 27.54-acre parcel off of U.S. Highway 101 in Brinnon as open space from designated forest land.

Jefferson Land Trust submitted the application to the county, which reviewed the worksheet and scored the application as a 12 on a scale of 5 to 12 points. That score gives the applicant a full reduction, Development Code Administrator Greg Ballard said.

“The reason why this project makes sense is that I believe in 2022 there was an easement granted to the Navy that precluded development on the property,” Ballard said.

The land will not be harvested for commercial forestry, Jefferson Land Trust Director of Conservation Sarah Spaeth said.

“If we do any selective harvest, it’s to actually improve the forest conditions,” Spaeth said. “There are incredibly old and big, beautiful trees, particularly in the area where there is a perennial stream. So we don’t harvest trees that are in that stream buffer because the health of the forest and also the water quality.”

Jefferson Land Trust will continue to contribute to the county coffers even with the open space designation, she said.

“It’s just not appropriate to have it in designated forest land if we’re not going to be actively managing it for economic return,” Spaeth said.

The parcel is a sensitive property right on Highway 101 with restricted access because there’s no designated parking area. The Navy’s easement retired development rights on the property.

No one spoke during the public hearing before commissioners approved the resolution.

Budget goals

Also Monday, commissioners approved a motion to adopt provisional budget goals and objectives, a budgeting step the commissioners were required to take before the state auditor’s budget call on Aug. 3, according to a presentation from Finance Director Judy Shepherd.

Final goals and objectives are expected to be adopted by resolution Aug. 10.

The county is waiting to see whether Proposition 1, the Jefferson County Parks and Rec Levy Lid Lift, is approved before it adopts final budget goals and objectives. The measure is on the Aug. 4 primary ballot.

Shepherd gave a high-level overview of measures the county already has taken regarding its general fund. Those measures include that the county will continue its hiring freeze until 2027 and that the capital expenditure limit is $5,000.

The county is requiring departments to request additions to their budgets through the Add Request form, and discretionary expenditures are expected to hold steady in 2026.

If the ballot measure does not pass, discretionary services and expenditures will be reviewed by the board to reduce the county’s budget deficit. There also will be a review of mandated services that are partially paid for by the general fund.

For other county funds, transfers from the general fund will be limited and department budgets will be prepared as balanced budgets, according to the presentation. Increases to those budgets will be absorbed with the available resources of those funds.

If the ballot measure does not pass, transfers from the general fund will be set to zero and general fund transfers to other funds for discretionary services likely will be reduced or eliminated, according to the presentation.

Shepherd’s slides provided two general fund cash projections for 2027. If the levy lid lift passes, the county is expected to have a budget surplus of $33,803. If the proposition fails, the county is expected to have a budget deficit of $1,197,571.

Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette agreed to adopt the provisional budget goals and objectives with one suggestion.

“I guess the only thing that I would adjust is to make it clear that the discretionary service and mandated services review is going to be required one way or the other and not specifically only if the ballot measure does not pass,” she said.

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.