{"id":3256,"date":"2026-03-05T13:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/cortes\/?p=3256"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:32:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T20:32:53","slug":"cortes-bill-to-protect-agricultural-forest-land-in-clark-county-passes-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/cortes\/2026\/03\/05\/cortes-bill-to-protect-agricultural-forest-land-in-clark-county-passes-legislature\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortes bill to protect agricultural, forest land in Clark County passes Legislature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">OLYMPIA \u2013\u00a0Legislation\u00a0sponsored by Sen. Adrian Cortes (D-Battle\u00a0Ground) to\u00a0close a loophole\u00a0in the Growth Management Act (GMA)\u00a0that\u00a0impacted\u00a0Clark County\u2019s agriculture and forest lands\u00a0passed the Washington State Legislature on\u00a0Tuesday.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Senate Bill\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=5820&amp;Initiative=false&amp;Year=2025\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">5820<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0repeals\u00a0authorization in the\u00a0GMA\u00a0allowing\u00a0industrial development on timber, agricultural, and mineral resource lands or critical environmental areas\u00a0adjacent to\u00a0the railroad in Clark\u00a0County.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cOur state laws mandate the protection and conservation of our most precious lands, including our agricultural\u00a0and critical areas,\u201d\u00a0Cortes\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cOur\u00a0Legislature took a bold step to reaffirm our state&#8217;s commitment to that mandate by repealing a poorly drafted and unworkable law that allowed for specific precious lands in Clark County to become industrialized.\u00a0This bill opens the door for future recreational use of the rail corridor, creating opportunities for tourism, outdoor\u00a0access,\u00a0and economic development.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The GMA requires that certain counties\u00a0and the cities within those counties\u00a0engage in planning for future population growth.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Counties and cities planning under the GMA must adopt development regulations to assure the conservation of agriculture, forest, and mineral resource lands.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0Senate Bill 5517, which was signed into law in\u00a02017,\u00a0allowed\u00a0Clark County\u00a0to be exempt from GMA\u2019s conservation requirements.\u00a0Clark County is one of only two of Washington\u2019s 39 counties to be exempt from the GMA\u2019s conservation requirements.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThis bill would not have passed without\u00a0the support of\u00a0hundreds of\u00a0Clark County\u00a0residents,\u201d Cortes said.\u00a0\u201cOur neighbors from various political spectrums came together to push for this bill\u00a0in order\u00a0to\u00a0protect Clark County\u2019s agricultural\u00a0and forest lands.\u00a0The passage of this bill strongly\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0that when people\u00a0truly believe\u00a0in a common goal\u00a0and work diligently for that goal, we can all achieve\u00a0great results\u00a0for our community.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Senate Bill 5820 received support from community members and local lawmakers in Clark County, including\u00a0Battle\u00a0Ground Mayor Eric Overholser and\u00a0Battle\u00a0Ground City Councilmember Troy McCoy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cBattle Ground and our surrounding communities cherish our agricultural heritage, farmlands, forests, and natural environment, which define our quality of life and rural character.\u201d Overholser said. \u201cSenate Bill 5820 restores full compliance with the Growth Management Act for these sensitive lands, ensuring equitable protection statewide and preventing irresponsible expansion that could harm local farms, water resources, wildlife habitats, and neighborhood livability. Senator Cortes has demonstrated strong leadership for the 18th District by addressing this inconsistency thoughtfully and responsibly.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThis bill proves that when representatives, senators, the\u00a0Battle\u00a0Ground City Council, and local citizens unite, we achieve real results,\u201d McCoy said. \u201cIt is a powerful reminder that progress happens when our community works diligently toward a shared vision.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Senate Bill 5820 now heads to the governor\u2019s desk\u00a0to be signed into law.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OLYMPIA \u2013\u00a0Legislation\u00a0sponsored by Sen. Adrian Cortes (D-Battle\u00a0Ground) to\u00a0close a loophole\u00a0in the Growth Management Act (GMA)\u00a0that\u00a0impacted\u00a0Clark County\u2019s agriculture and forest lands\u00a0passed the Washington State Legislature on\u00a0Tuesday.\u00a0 Senate Bill\u00a05820\u00a0repeals\u00a0authorization in the\u00a0GMA\u00a0allowing\u00a0industrial development on timber, agricultural, and mineral resource lands or critical environmental areas\u00a0adjacent to\u00a0the railroad in Clark\u00a0County.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur state laws mandate the protection and conservation of our most precious lands, including our agricultural\u00a0and critical areas,\u201d\u00a0Cortes\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cOur\u00a0Legislature took a bold step to reaffirm our state&#8217;s commitment to that mandate by repealing a poorly drafted and unworkable law that allowed for specific precious lands in Clark County to become industrialized.\u00a0This bill opens the door for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":1390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cortes bill to protect agricultural, forest land in Clark County passes Legislature - Sen. Adrian Cortes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/cortes\/2026\/03\/05\/cortes-bill-to-protect-agricultural-forest-land-in-clark-county-passes-legislature\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cortes bill to protect agricultural, forest land in Clark County passes Legislature - Sen. Adrian Cortes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OLYMPIA \u2013\u00a0Legislation\u00a0sponsored by Sen. Adrian Cortes (D-Battle\u00a0Ground) to\u00a0close a loophole\u00a0in the Growth Management Act (GMA)\u00a0that\u00a0impacted\u00a0Clark County\u2019s agriculture and forest lands\u00a0passed the Washington State Legislature on\u00a0Tuesday.\u00a0 Senate Bill\u00a05820\u00a0repeals\u00a0authorization in the\u00a0GMA\u00a0allowing\u00a0industrial development on timber, agricultural, and mineral resource lands or critical environmental areas\u00a0adjacent to\u00a0the railroad in Clark\u00a0County.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOur state laws mandate the protection and conservation of our most precious lands, including our agricultural\u00a0and critical areas,\u201d\u00a0Cortes\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cOur\u00a0Legislature took a bold step to reaffirm our state&#8217;s commitment to that mandate by repealing a poorly drafted and unworkable law that allowed for specific precious lands in Clark County to become industrialized.\u00a0This bill opens the door for...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/cortes\/2026\/03\/05\/cortes-bill-to-protect-agricultural-forest-land-in-clark-county-passes-legislature\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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