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Page A-2 - Mason County Journal - Thursday, June 19, 2014
Lake Nahwatzel manageme:n00: district moves forward
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncoun corn
Proponents of creat-
ing a lake management
district for Lake Nahwat-
zel met with the Mason
County Board of Com-
missioners Monday to
discuss their next steps.
"Lake Nahwatzel is
a community," said Bob
Dick, president of the
Friends of Lake Nahwat-
zel. "It's not a wealthy
community, but it's a
pretty active community
and we value the lake."
Senate Bill 6031,
which was signed by Gov.
Jay Inslee on March 27
and became effective
on June 12, allows lake
management districts
in Mason County to buy
property or conservation
easements.
"The rest of the state
is looking at this," said
Patti Case, public affairs
manager for the north-
west timberlands divi-
sion of Green Diamond
Resource Co.
Dick and other resi-
dents hope the district,
once created, can buy
$750,000 in conservation
easements on 240 acres of
residentially zoned Green
Diamond timberland on
the lake's north shore,
limiting potential devel-
opment to four homes.
In 2012, the Friends
of Lake Nahwatzel, a
group of area residents,
formed to challenge a
Green Diamond proposal
for the county to redesig-
nate more than 240 acres
at the north shore of the
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Journal file photo
The Friends of Lake Nahwatzel, Green Diamond Resource Co. and Forterra are working with Mason
County to create a lake management district to buy a conservation easement on the north shore of
Lake Nahwatzel.
lake from long-term com-
mercial forest to Rural
Residential 5, which al-
lows one house per 5
acres.
Green Diamond ex-
pressed interest at the
time in selling the proper-
ty to a housing developer,
who could place as many
as 50 homes in a subdivi-
sion on the property.
Lake residents were
concerned that a subdi-
vision on the property
could damage the lake's
water quality and cause
increased boat traffic on
the lake.
The Mason County
Commission approved
the redesignation in
2013.
Representatives from
the Friends of Lake Nah-
watzel, Green : Diamond
and land conservancy
organization Forterra
worked with legisla-
tors, including sponsor
Sen. Tim Sheldon (D-
Potlatch), to pass the bill
during the 2014 legisla-
tive session.
"Now we're in the im-
plementation phase," said
Sheldon, also a Mason
County commissioner.
Mason County has two
existing lake manage-
ment districts at Island
Lake and Mason Lake.
According to RCW
36.61, a county commis-
sion can either create the
lake management district
through a resolution or
require the landowners of
20 percent of the proposed
district to sign a petition
to create the district.
The Mason County
commission directed the
Friends of Lake Nah-
watzel, Green Diamond
and Forterra to work
with county staff to de-
velop boundaries for the
district before drafting a
petition.
Once created, the lake
management district
would be managed by
the county commission.
It would likely use a rev-
enue bond to buy the con-
servation easement, and
levy a tax on properties
within the district to pay
off the bond over time.
Dick said residents
want to protect the lake.
"We want to pay for
that protection," he said.
When a group buys
conservation easements,
they buy the right to de-
velop that land. Once the
conservation easement is
in place, the land can be
logged, but not developed.
The agreement dis-
cussed by the Friends
of Lake Nahwatzel and
Green Diamond would
still allow for the develop-
ment of four homes, rath-
er than the 50 originally
proposed.
The easement agree-
ment could determine
where the four homes
could be built.
The conservation ease-
ment will stay with the
property in perpetuity,
even if it is sold. Accord-
ing to an agreement be-
tween the parties, four
lots on the property will
still be developable.
