Deschutes County withdraws proposal to remove farm and forest protections!

Earlier this month, we got good news from Deschutes County.

Deschutes County Commission withdraws a proposal to rezone farm and forest land. 

For years, there has been an ongoing debate over a proposal to rezone rural areas in Central Oregon. The proposal would allow for removing land protections for forest and farm use and permit the development of sprawling rural housing.

GOALS FOR FARM AND FORESTS

When the latest proposal was put forward in 2019, we were rightfully concerned. We knew this could set a precedent across Deschutes County to allow for future development on Central Oregon’s farm and forest lands.

Once land is rezoned for housing development, there is virtually no way for that land ever to be used for agriculture or forestry again.

We knew it violated Goals 3 and 4 of the state land use system.

Read more about Oregon’s land use protections for farms and forests with Goal 3 and Goal 4.

At LandWatch, we support housing development inside cities and towns to accommodate shifting and growing populations and provide housing near work, services, and schools. Our purpose is to prevent sprawling development from expanding outside our cities and towns, to protect our open spaces, family farms and ranches, and wildlife habitat.

This proposal put that vision at risk.

What is “Non-Prime Resource Land”?

The proposed amendments would have designated land as “non-prime resource land,” an imaginary label to allow for sprawl outside of urban growth boundaries.

This ill-conceived strategy to circumvent state land use laws would have allowed for conversion of protected resource land into expensive rural housing. The strategy was not well-founded in the law and violated numerous statutes, statewide planning goals, and administrative rules intended to preserve our state’s natural resources for generations to come.

Rural residential developments come at a high taxpayer cost to neighboring cities and towns, which must pay to extend roads and services. Sprawling rural residential developments are often at exceptionally high wildfire risk.

A win for farms and forests

On behalf of our supporters and concerned residents of Central Oregon, LandWatch pushed back, testifying against these proposed amendments several times over the last two years.

Last month, the Deschutes County Commission withdrew the proposal!

While we celebrate this decision as a win for farms and forests, threats to our rural communities continue to come from all sides. It takes ongoing work and watchful oversight to preserve our forests and farms for Central Oregon’s future. We will remain vigilant.