Legal victories make it harder to rezone farmland for rural sprawl
By Ben Gordon, Executive Director
A herd of elk make use of farmland in Deschutes County for seasonal habitat. Ryder Redfield
Deschutes County’s new comprehensive plan conflicts with state law and was improperly adopted, according to a recent ruling from Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
LUBA’s April 13 decision marks significant progress in Central Oregon LandWatch’s long-running advocacy to ensure the landscapes, farmlands, water, and natural places that define Deschutes County are managed responsibly for those who live here today and future generations who will call this place home.
In 2022, Deschutes County embarked on an update of its comprehensive plan—the guiding policy document for how the county manages land use, transportation, and natural resources across its rural lands. After years of rampant conversion of farm and forest land to luxury sprawl, which drains our groundwater and increases fire risks, LandWatch was optimistic that this Plan update could be the County’s chance to turn over a new leaf.
The county had other plans. It adopted a new plan that continued the sprawl-friendly status quo—prioritizing short-sighted private profit over the long-term health of local communities and landscapes. The county even backtracked to the point of claiming this new plan was not actually a new plan at all, but rather a minor “update.”
LandWatch appealed the new plan to LUBA. We argued that it violated state law by allowing too much development outside urban growth boundaries (UGBs) on lands currently designated for farming and forests, and that when the County hastily adopted these policies enabling excess rural development, it infringed on LandWatch’s and the public’s right to weigh in.
LUBA agreed with both arguments, and the county’s new plan remains out of effect as a result.
This win follows another significant LandWatch legal victory from last summer, when LUBA agreed that the county erred in rezoning 65 acres of irrigated farmland above Tumalo State Park, because it authorized too much development on rural lands outside UGBs. Together, these outcomes will help ensure that protections for irreplaceable landscapes are enforced, not ignored in favor of narrow private interests.
LandWatch actively supports new homebuilding and housing solutions to meet our region’s needs: housing that working families, teachers, nurses, and residents of all walks of life can actually afford and access. But growth should strengthen our communities by being sited appropriately. Under Oregon’s land use planning framework, that means inside UGBs, where infrastructure exists, and communities are designed to grow.
County lands are not only to be valued for their potential for speculative development; they also provide immense benefits as food sources, wildlife habitat, working landscapes, and open space.
These two recent LUBA decisions will make it much harder for Deschutes County to continue rezoning farmland for rural sprawl. The farms, forests, water, and open spaces of Deschutes County feed us, sustain wildlife, and are essential to the sense of place we share.
Originally published as a guest column in the Bend Bulletin on April 25, 2026.
