The Oregon Supreme Court has given state agriculture
interests reason to celebrate. Last month the court upheld the
state’s right to enforce strict rules against nonagricultural uses
of farmland. That means a lot to farmers in western Oregon’s
Willamette Valley, home to 70 percent of the state’s population as
well as to its richest soil.
“We have an
incredible growth boom in western Oregon,” says Blair Batson,
attorney for 1000 Friends of Oregon, a watchdog group that praised
the court’s decision. “The pressure is very intense.”
The court ruled on a county’s challenge to a
state commission’s decision in 1993 to restrict development on
“high-value” farmland. The Land Conservation and Development
Commission made the changes after finding that many counties were
approving farm dwellings that had little connection with
agriculture. Seventy-five percent of the building involved
structures like homes, golf courses and churches on land where
owners promised some farming would take
place.
But Lane County, located in the valley’s
south end, sees the issue as one of local control. Kent Howe,
county planning director, says the county already has tough
land-use protections, and the county can do the job of enforcement
alone.
Says Howe, “We feel (the state) exceeded
their authority.”
The county has asked the state
Supreme Court to reconsider the case. For more information, call
1000 Friends of Oregon at 503/ 497-1000, or Kent Howe at 541/
683-3734.
* Peter
Chilson
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Farmland wins a round.
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