The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

OLYMPIA - A pro­posed change to a law aimed at preserving farmland and open space could result in higher taxes for some Wash­ington property owners.

House Bill 2306 would expand a tax classifica­tion on land actively used for agriculture, timber produc­tion or undeveloped open space. While property tax is generally assessed on the market value of a parcel, the state's Open Space Taxation Act allows land to be taxed at a lower rate based on its current use, such as farming.

Under the current law, if a farming operation is 20 acres or more, the parcels must be contiguous in order to be el...