The Washington State Department of Natural Resources manages about 3 million acres of uplands across Washington state to produce revenue to fund schools, colleges, and critical local services. DNR has a responsibility as a trust manager to ensure that it manages these lands to their highest and best use, but as times change, the best uses of those lands may change, too. Expanding residential development, parcel isolation, zoning and land use changes, inability to generate revenue, or other factors make some of these state trust parcels less suitable for continued management. In these cases, DNR may sell the state properties at auction and use the proceeds to acquire replacement lands better suited to produce revenue for public services.

 

Prior to selling the trust properties at auction, the state properties are transferred into the Land Bank. This is done through a land bank exchange.

 

The Land Bank Exchange 2023 would involve transferring one up to 1.53-acre parcel in Arlington, Snohomish County, from the Land Bank into trust status and four parcels in Pierce County totaling up to 70.38 acres from trust status to the Land Bank.

 

• Position targeted trust properties that are no longer suitable for trust management to be sold at public auction.

• Facilitate the replacement of trust properties unable to generate revenue for the trust beneficiaries with properties better suited to meet that intent.

• Consolidate state trust lands to improve management efficiency and marketing options to produce trust revenue.

• Enhance the sustainability of working trust landscapes to provide for future generations.

• Reduce the number of isolated trust parcels that are less suitable for long-term trust management.

 

 

To Trusts: 

 

To Land Bank:

 

DNR will hold a future public hearing starting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 19, at the Parkland/Spanaway Pierce County Library Meeting Room, 13718 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma, WA, 98444. The purpose of this meeting is to share information and to receive information and testimony from the public.

 

Following the evaluation of hearing testimony and a property appraisal, DNR will finalize an exchange proposal to present to the Board of Natural Resources for a final decision at one of its regularly scheduled monthly meetings. The Board meeting provides an additional opportunity for public comment. 

 

Written testimony must be received by October 4, 2023. Please mail written testimony to DNR, Land Bank Exchange 2023, Attn: Mathew Matulovich, P.O. Box 47014, Olympia, WA 98504-7014, or submit it by email to exchanges@dnr.wa.gov.

 

DNR encourages written testimony from interested parties. Attendance at this meeting is not required to testify regarding this exchange, and written testimony is equivalent to in-person verbal testimony.

 

All prospective attendees are asked to stay home if they have a fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, or exposure to someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19.

 

For more information about the proposal, contact project manager Matthew Matulovich at 564-669-0897 or matthew.matulovich@dnr.wa.gov.