Oregon is struggling with the consequences of Measure

Oregon is struggling with the consequences of Measure 37, a ballot initiative last November that increased the rights of many property owners at the expense of growth management. Measure 37 stipulated that governments must pay owners, or forgo enforcement, when certain land-use restrictions reduce property value. The chief beneficiaries are those who acquired their properties before powerful state planning legislation was adopted in 1973. They get to subdivide and develop properties that might otherwise be off limits to substantial construction. Most of the claims filed since approval of Measure 37 have requested only “small partitions on agricultural land to allow for the construction of one or two houses in conjunction with larger holdings,” said Ethan Seltzer, director of the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. “However, some larger rural subdivisions have come forward,” Seltzer said, and the expectation is that “more large projects will be seen.”