The Clark County Council unanimously approved the sale of 40 acres of undeveloped park land to the Hockinson School District on June 6.
The county agreed to part ways with the land, which is an undeveloped portion of the larger 240-acre park complex at the northern end of Hockinson Community Park, for $720,000, according to the sale agreement.
Back in 2019, district Superintendent Steve Marshall approached the county about acquiring the land, according to a staff report presented to the council. The land is intended to be the future site of at least one school for the Hockinson School District, Clark County Public Works Parks and Lands Division Manager Rocky Houston told the council.
The property was surplused by the council in 2018, Houston said. Since late 2020, the county has worked on the potential sale, as both the county and the school district conducted their own appraisals.
Though there aren’t any immediate plans for construction, or property tax increases in the district for a bond, Kevin Tyler, the lands manager for Clark County Public Works, said the superintendent indicated an “urgency for schools” in the southern reach of the district.
“I’m sure you’re aware of all of the development near what we call Hockinson Community Park,” Tyler said.
He noted elementary and middle school-aged facilities are the most needed.
The sale agreement is contingent on a 180-day timeframe for the school district to complete a feasibility study for construction.
“Due to the amount of wetlands that are on the property, they want to see whether they can get one or two schools in there, I believe,” Houston said.
The district’s appraisal was conducted before the county’s and came in “much lower,” Tyler said. The selling price of less than $1 million for dozens of acres caught the eye of councilor Glen Yung.
“It just amazes me that it’s appraised at $18,000 an acre,” Yung said. “I don’t know where else in the county you can buy land at that (price).”
The land changing hands is currently zoned agricultural with a density of one parcel per 20 acres minimum. That zoning has led to its seemingly low price, given the rate at which developable land at higher densities usually goes for in Clark County, Laura Henry Slye, a real property services manager for the county, explained.
The amount of wetlands in the parcel also played into the appraisal, Houston said. More wetlands prevent more land from being built up.
Although the land is currently zoned for agriculture, it may not need to be rezoned to build a school, Clark County Community Planning Director Oliver Orjiako said.
“We have to look at what is the school (district) planning to build,” Orjiako said. “If the school that they are planning to build is permitted in (agriculture), there will be no reason to rezone.”
He added later that elementary and middle schools in rural school districts like Hockinson are allowed on a conditional basis in agriculture zones.
The potential to not need a rezone for agricultural land came as a surprise to councilor Sue Marshall.
“I wasn’t aware you could build a school on (agriculture) land,” Marshall said.
She, like the rest of the council, voted to approve the sale.
“Normally, I wouldn’t be supportive of any loss of agricultural land, but I know that this has been in the works for sometime,” Marshall said.