Oregon Farmers May Face the Same Fights to Preserve Farm Land

Until November 2004, Oregon boasted the most restrictive land-use planning laws in the country. Intent on preserving the fertile agricultural lands of the Willamette Valley and Columbia Gorge as well as the forestland of the Cascade and Coastal ranges, 30 years ago the Oregon legislature enacted laws that limited the growth of the cities to prescribed urban boundaries. Under the law, no one was allowed to build a home or other structure on land that was designated for agricultural or timber use.
But the socio-economic structure of Oregon has changed in the last 30 years. The population of the Northwest is growing at twice the national rate, due in part to a large migration of Californians looking for open spaces and less urban sprawl. (Oregon’s major cities are bordered either by farmland or forests.) Those “new” Oregonians, wanting to move further away from the cities, worked to pass Ballot Measure 37 last November.
Under the new law, counties in Oregon are required to compensate people who can prove that they suffered an economic hardship because of the strict land-use planning regulations. Since the state is suffering one of the worst economic recessions in the country, the governments will have choice but to grant them building/ development permits rather than pay compensation.
The agricultural landscape of Oregon will be changing as will the future of the Oregon farmer.