Fifteen households are betting on a rural experiment an hour outside Seattle. Their success could redefine how farmland under development pressure gets preserved.

The Big Picture

In 2020, a band of land preservationists pooled money and bought 240 acres of lush farmland in Snohomish County. The land was zoned residential, not agricultural. "This is one of the last non-flood plain farms of this size here," says Dave Boehnlein, 48, the project's cofounder. They knew developers would snap it up.

Their solution: Rooted Northwest, a co-housing community with 70 tightly clustered homes. 93% of the acreage —223 acres— will be gardens, forest, and farmland. The houses, mostly two-to four-bedroom townhomes, will start at $875,000. Owners will belong to two HOAs.

“"We’re going back to the old-school rural village: homes clustered for safety and shared resources, with farms and gardens radiating out," says Boehnlein.”

Why It Matters

This project tests a hybrid model in a strained housing market. Instead of 5-acre single-family plots —the current zoning— it concentrates housing and frees productive land. The planning commission and county council had to pass an ordinance to allow it.