Calculating the Prime Farmland in the I3 Map Amendment

Lets consider the proposed March 2026, I3 Map Amendment

USDA provides a way to see the soil in any area of interest Steps to use this USDA website

If we tabulate the results we see

The map amendment application states that the project covers a total of 2,180 acres, while the USDA web-based mapping tool reports a slightly different figure. This discrepancy is attributable to the resolution limitations of the USDA’s web-based application rather than any actual difference in the land area involved. To reconcile this difference, the table below proportionally distributes the 117-acre variance across each soil classification category in the same ratio as reported by the USDA data.

Comprehensive Plan Objective 6A states: “Preserve soils that are considered prime or of statewide importance for continued agricultural use whenever possible.” This map amendment covers 2,180 acres — just 1.4% of Mason County’s total land area. Of this, only 594 acres are classified as prime farmland, which is a mere 1.7 % of Mason County’s total prime farmland. An additional 694 acres are designated as land of statewide importance, making up 1.8% of Mason County’s total land in that category. These small percentages alone show the care developers took in site selection to minimize impact on our most valuable agricultural soils. Moreover, the actual development footprint is limited to buildings and necessary infrastructure. The rest of the site will be maintained as landscaping and sod, actively reducing soil erosion and protecting Mason County’s valuable topsoil. In addition, the project storm water control structures will reduce the impact of heavy rain events.  

All of these demonstrate how the project fulfills the environmental preservation goal Objective 6A was designed to promote. Far from conflicting with the Comprehensive Plan’s agricultural preservation goals, this project was intentionally designed to respect them.

Proposed Map Amendment relative to entire County