To the Kitsap County Department of Community Development (DCD), Planning Commission, and Board of County Commissioners:

We, the undersigned residents, constituents, and equestrians of Kitsap County, respectfully request that the County take immediate steps to ensure that the proposed equestrian facility zoning code amendments are informed by accurate research, transparent reasoning, and meaningful community input. These changes will directly impact rural landowners, equestrian facilities, and the broader agricultural community. Yet, the property owners who will be most affected have not been included in the research or given adequate opportunity to provide input.

It is clear that the proposed changes were drafted without the input or advocacy of equine property owners. The following offers a few of the concerns and helps to explain why our community is angry, afraid and calling loudly for these amendments to be paused to allow adequate time for research and consideration to take place.

Just one of the proposed changes —the 200-foot setbacks— would single-handedly eradicate equine businesses in Kitsap County. Under these restrictions, a five-acre farm could not keep a single horse, and even a ten-acre property would be limited. This single proposed change would make it impossible for an equestrian business to operate in Kitsap.

The additional proposed language also poses immense threats to the survival of our rural economy. Realistically, no equestrian facility could survive under the setback and acreage restrictions. If these zoning changes move forward, Kitsap County will not just lose equestrian facilities, which serve the community in so many ways—it will also devastate an entire economic sector. Boarding barns will close, the few that remain will be forced to slash capacity, increase boarding rates, and displaced horses will take with them the revenue that sustains local farmers, hay and grain suppliers, local veterinarians, and farriers. Veterinarians, trainers, tack shops, bodywork professionals, and farm stores will watch their business evaporate as horse owners are pushed into neighboring counties. Meanwhile, those counties will collect the gas sales, restaurant traffic, and housing revenue that Kitsap willingly gave away. The message to equestrian families is clear: you are not welcome here. And when they move, they take not only their animals but also their tax dollars, their home purchases, and their community investments with them. Kitsap leadership will be responsible for driving out a vital rural industry and handing its economic future to surrounding counties.

We respectfully request that the County:

1. Clearly explain and outline the problem the new regulations are trying to solve, and explain why new regulations are an appropriate response to the stated problem.

2. Conduct direct outreach to affected property owners. We strongly encourage the Department continue to follow through on its September 11th commitment to convene the Equestrian Facility Code Working Group. In doing so, we urge that meaningful public engagement be prioritized—specifically through direct outreach methods such as phone calls, in-person interviews, and targeted surveys. This engagement should include, at a minimum, those individuals who have already provided comments through the County’s webpage and who own or operate equestrian properties. Ensuring their voices are heard will strengthen the credibility of this process and help create balanced, informed policy that reflects the realities of our rural and equestrian communities. We recommend that the County use this group to help establish an Equestrian Advisory Committee composed of a diverse range of stakeholders, including equestrian property owners, facility operators, trainers, local equestrian business owners and boarders. This committee would serve as a representative body to provide balanced, informed perspectives on proposed policy changes. Further, we suggest that the Advisory Committee be tasked not only with reviewing proposed amendments but also with clearly articulating the specific ways in which the current draft provisions may be harmful, impractical, or unworkable. The committee should be empowered to explain why these challenges exist and to present viable, constructive solutions. This approach will ensure that policy development is both informed by lived experience and guided by collaborative problem-solving.

3. Host additional community forums that foster open dialogue and allow for meaningful public engagement. These forums should include opportunities for presentations, impact studies, and stakeholder feedback to ensure that decisions are made with transparency, inclusivity, and a full understanding of the impacts on rural landowners and the broader equestrian community.

4. Best Management Practices Transparency. If the Kitsap Conservation District is to be tasked with determining best management practices or approving farm plans, as suggested in the drafted language, then Kitsap County must be fully transparent about what that process entails. Without clear, specific information on how farm plan approvals will be carried out, and assurances that Kitsap Conservation District has the staffing and capacity to fulfill the volume of requests that would result from these proposed changes, the County risks further eroding public trust and imposing regulations that property owners cannot reasonably prepare for or comply with. Accountability requires clarity before enforcement, and these details must be publicly released and reviewed before any zoning changes are advanced.

5. Undertake a thorough impact study. The study should analyze how the proposed amendments will affect rural economies, property values, equestrian businesses, traditional farming practices, and community identity.

6. Publish all research findings and data sources. Transparency is essential for building trust and ensuring community members can understand how conclusions were reached.

7. Extend the public comment and review period. Rushing through this process risks creating zoning regulations that harm rural communities and are misaligned with Kitsap County’s stated goal of supporting rural lifestyles and economies. The time necessary to conduct thorough research, engage in meaningful conversations with stakeholders, and foster genuine community partnership extends beyond the current timeline outlined in the Year of the Rural project. While we recognize that this is an important issue that warrants thoughtful consideration, we respectfully request that it not be expedited within the constraints of this initiative. Such a matter deserves careful, measured discussion and should be addressed on its own merit rather than through the scope of a heightened emotional response to a single civil matter. Only through these steps can the County ensure that policy decisions reflect both the values and the lived experiences of the people who call rural Kitsap home. We urge the Department, the Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners to commit to these actions for the benefit of each resident who chooses to make Kitsap their home. We ask that these considerations be made before moving forward with any zoning code amendments.

Respectfully, The Equestrian and Agricultural Community of Kitsap County