| Draft Environmental Impact Statement Shorts School Road Am Antenna Structures 66 Snohomish River, but is separated from the river by a large flood control dike. The river is not visible from the project site. Surrounding Area The site is located in the Snohomish River Valley, an agricultural river valley bounded to the east and west by ridges, low lying foothills, and the Cascade and Olympic Mountain ranges. The Snohomish River Valley is an agricultural landscape with a rural character. The adjacent ridges to the east and west of the proposed project site are used for residential purposes and have a rural to semi-urban character. 3.2.2 Relationship to Plans and Policies Snohomish County Comprehensive Plan The Snohomish County Comprehensive Plan (�Plan�) designation of the property is Riverway Commercial Farmland. The property�s existing use is farmland, and agricultural production uses will continue on the property after construction of the proposal. Although there are no specific Plan policies expressly addressing aesthetic or visual effects on farmlands, the proposal is consistent with the general provisions of the Snohomish County Comprehensive Plan as reflected in the County zoning code, and the County General Policy Plan, as follows: Rural Lands Objective LU 6.H. Provide for small-scale industrial uses in the rural areas of the county that are primarily dependent on the natural resources derived from the rural and resource areas. The proposal depends on very specific spatial and geological conditions. After extensive research of soil conditions, land availability, FAA requirements and other factors, the proposed site was selected as the best of the available sites to serve Snohomish County with a strong AM signal. An AM antenna is a use dependent upon the water and mineral content of soils that are found at the proposed site. Therefore, the proposal is a resourcebased enterprise, dependent upon the rural shoreline area lands. Agriculture LU Policy 7.C.1 �Public and private infrastructure improvements�should minimize impacts on farmland and farm operations.� The proposal is compatible with the agricultural zoning of the property, and will remove only 4,500 square feet of the 39.75-acre site from agricultural production. All portions of the site not occupied by the transmission structures, equipment shelter or parking lot will be available for agricultural uses. The antennas will be free-standing structures and all below-ground installations will be of sufficient depth as not to significantly interfere with farming activities on the surface. In addition, once both phases of the proposal are |