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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 215.278 (2026)

Accessory dwellings for farmworkers; rules

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      215.278 Accessory dwellings for farmworkers; rules. (1) The Land Conservation and Development Commission shall revise administrative rules regarding dwellings customarily provided in conjunction with farm use to allow, under ORS 215.213 and 215.283, the establishment of accessory dwellings needed to provide opportunities for farmworker housing for individuals primarily engaged in farm use whose assistance in the management of the farm is or will be required by the farm operator on the farm unit.

      (2) County land use regulations may not establish standards for accessory farmworker housing that are in addition to those required under this chapter or commission rules unless the standards are clear and objective.

      (3) As used in this section:

      (a) “Farm unit” means the contiguous and noncontiguous tracts in common ownership used by the farm operator for farm use as defined in ORS 215.203.

      (b) “Farmworker” means an individual who, for an agreed remuneration or rate of pay, performs labor, temporarily or on a continuing basis, for a person in the:

      (A) Production of farm products;

      (B) Planting, cultivating or harvesting of seasonal agricultural crops; or

      (C) Forestation or reforestation of land, including but not limited to planting, transplanting, tubing, precommercial thinning and thinning of trees or seedlings, the clearing, piling and disposal of brush and slash and other related activities.

      (c) “Farmworker housing” means housing:

      (A) Limited to occupancy by farmworkers and their immediate families; and

      (B) No dwelling unit of which is occupied by a relative of the owner or operator of the farmworker housing.

      (d) “Owner” means a person that owns farmworker housing. “Owner” does not mean a person whose interest in the farmworker housing is that of a holder of a security interest in the housing.

      (e) “Relative” means:

      (A) A spouse of the owner or operator; and

      (B) An ancestor, lineal descendant or whole or half sibling of the owner or operator or the spouse of the owner or operator. [2001 c.613 §6; 2011 c.471 §6; 2023 c.533 §3]

 

      Note: 215.278 was added to and made a part of ORS chapter 215 by legislative action but was not added to any smaller series therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2007–2025 · leading case: Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 230 P.3d 976 (Or. Ct. App. 2010).
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Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 230 P.3d 976 (Or. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 3× “However, ORS 215.278 concerns accessory dwellings for farmworkers and the definition of “farm unit” is expressly limited to the use of the term in that statute.”
Stacey v. Myers, 154 P.3d 106 (Or. 2007). “ORS 215.278. The “no” vote result statement, by suggesting that the requirement of generating farm income is a part of all the existing exceptions to the general prohibition on building a dwelling on exclusive farm use land, is not an accurate statement of the result if voters…”
Friends of Yamhill Cnty. v. Yamhill Cnty., 572 P.3d 278 (Or. 2025). “” ORS 215.278. And the limitations on a dwelling “occupied by a rel- ative” similarly emphasize the connection to the farm opera- tor.”
Or. Rev. Stat. § 215.278(2): 1 case
Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 230 P.3d 976 (Or. Ct. App. 2010). “However, ORS 215.278 concerns accessory dwellings for farmworkers and the definition of “farm unit” is expressly limited to the use of the term in that statute.”
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