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Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 215.700 (2026)

Resource land dwelling policy

✓ current as of May 2026
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      215.700 Resource land dwelling policy. The Legislative Assembly declares that land use regulations limit residential development on some less productive resource land acquired before the owners could reasonably be expected to know of the regulations. In order to assist these owners while protecting the state’s more productive resource land from the detrimental effects of uses not related to agriculture and forestry, it is necessary to:

      (1) Provide certain owners of less productive land an opportunity to build a dwelling on their land; and

      (2) Limit the future division of and the siting of dwellings upon the state’s more productive resource land. [1993 c.792 §10]

 

(Temporary provisions relating to rezoning of farmlands within the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Region)

 

      Note: Sections 1 to 4, chapter 671, Oregon Laws 2021, provide:

      Sec. 1. Sections 2 and 3 of this 2021 Act are added to and made a part of ORS chapter 215. [2021 c.671 §1]

      Sec. 2. (1) Notwithstanding any land use planning goal related to urbanization or agricultural lands, a county that has established a review board described in section 3, chapter 671, Oregon Laws 2021, may rezone, and if necessary divide, lands that are zoned for exclusive farm use and within the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Region, as defined in ORS 284.771, for the development of one residential unit per lot or parcel of two acres or more, provided that:

      (a) The rezoned lands have not been employed for farm use in the prior three years;

      (b) The rezoned lands are not:

      (A) High-value farmland, as described in ORS 195.300 (10), excluding lands described in ORS 195.300 (10)(c)(B) and (10)(f)(E);

      (B) Predominantly composed of Class I, II or III soils; or

      (C) Viable for reasonably obtaining a profit through a farm use;

      (c) Rezoning will not force a significant change in accepted farm or forest practices on surrounding lands devoted to farm or forest use;

      (d) If the water source for the rezoned lands is a well, the lands are not within a critical ground water area as designated under ORS 537.730 to 537.740 or within an area where ground water withdrawals have been restricted by the Water Resources Commission;

      (e) The property owner agrees as a condition of approval of the rezoning to sign and record in the county deed records an irrevocable deed restriction in the form prescribed by the county acknowledging the protected rights of farm, forest and rangeland practices in the area and prohibiting the owner and the owner’s successors in interest from pursuing a cause of action or claim of relief alleging an injury from any farming, forest or rangeland practices if no claim or action is allowed under ORS 30.936 or 30.937 or otherwise protected by law as a farming, forest or rangeland practice;

      (f) The rezoning and division, if necessary, comply with all substantive rezoning and land division criteria and standards adopted by the county;

      (g) The approval would not result in a cumulative total of more than 200 acres rezoned by the county under this section;

      (h) The rezoning has received a public hearing and a written opinion from a review board established under section 3, chapter 671, Oregon Laws 2021;

      (i) In the prior 10 years, the rezoned lands have not been assessed for property tax purposes as:

      (A) Open space land under ORS 308A.300 to 308A.330;

      (B) Riparian habitat under ORS 308A.350 to 308A.383;

      (C) Wildlife habitat under ORS 308A.403 to 308A.430; or

      (D) A conservation easement under ORS 308A.450 to 308A.465;

      (j) The rezoned lands are within a rural fire protection district established under ORS 478.010 to 478.100 and subject to ORS 478.115, 478.120, 478.130, 478.140, 478.150, 478.155 and 478.160 and comply with all applicable fire prevention code requirements under ORS 478.910 to 478.930; and

      (k) The rezoned lands are not within an area designated as a 100-year floodplain on a current map of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

      (2) Upon rezoning lands under this section, the county shall file with the county assessor a statement listing the tax lots to which the change in zoning applies and the applicable date of the change. [2021 c.671 §2; 2023 c.566 §1]

      Sec. 3. (1) A county with lands within the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Region, as defined in ORS 284.771, may establish a review board that consists of four members appointed by the governing body of the county.

      (2) The members of the review board shall serve terms of no more than four years and may be reappointed by the governing body.

      (3) The review board must include:

      (a) One member who represents the interests of the farming community of the county;

      (b) One member who represents the Eastern Oregon Border Economic Development Board;

      (c) One member who is a member of the governing body of the county; and

      (d) One member who is a member of the planning body for the county.

      (4) The review board shall review, and conduct at least one public hearing for, each petition filed under section 2 of this 2021 Act to rezone, and if necessary partition, land and shall provide a written opinion to the county.

      (5) The opinion developed by the review board is not a land use decision and is not subject to appeal. [2021 c.671 §3]

      Sec. 4. Sections 2 and 3 of this 2021 Act are repealed on January 2, 2030. [2021 c.671 §4]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1995–2024 · leading case: Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 160 P.3d 614 (Or. 2007).
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Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 160 P.3d 614 (Or. 2007). · cites it 3× “10 As a matter of state policy, ORS 215.700 allows “certain owners of less productive land an opportunity to build a dwelling on their land[.”
Lane Cnty. v. Land Conservation & Dev. Comm'n, 942 P.2d 278 (Or. 1997). · cites it 2× “304(1); ORS 215.700 et seq. 4 The enactment required LCDC to amend its rules to conform to the new legislation, ORS 215.”
Stop the Dump Coal. v. Yamhill Cnty., 435 P.3d 698 (Or. 2019). · cites it 2× “" ORS 215.700. Those policy statements are part of a detailed set of statutes concerning agricultural land use generally, including such matters as EFU zoning, soils assessments, rural land maps, dwellings on agricultural land, land divisions, and other uses permitted on…”
Friends of Yamhill Cnty. v. Yamhill Cnty., 211 P.3d 297 (Or. Ct. App. 2009). “Those statutes authorize, subject to various conditions and approval criteria, the construction of lot-of-record dwellings, ORS 215.”
Craven v. Jackson Cnty., 898 P.2d 809 (Or. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 2× “Whatever the precise mechanics the act might have contemplated, one of the stated purposes of Oregon Laws 1993, chapter 792, through which ORS 215.700 et seq and ORS 215.010(2) were adopted, was to authorize dwellings in resource zones in certain circumstances where they could…”
Dep't of Land Conservation & Dev. v. Yamhill Cnty., 949 P.2d 1245 (Or. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 5× “” ORS 215.700 states the legislative purpose that underlies ORS 215.”
Bowerman v. Lane Cnty., 403 P.3d 512 (Or. Ct. App. 2017). “In August 2015, the planning director approved forest template dwellings for three of the eight reconfigured properties.”
LandWatch Lane Cnty. v. Lane Cnty., 336 Or. App. 534 (Or. Ct. App. 2024). “Forest template dwellings are gov- erned by a group of statutes, ORS 215.700 to 215.783, and they “address[ ] the extent to which owners of forestland may construct dwellings on that land.”
Dep't of Land Conservation & Dev. v. Yamhill Cnty., 53 P.3d 462 (Or. Ct. App. 2002). “” ORS 215.700 and ORS 215.824 both make provisions for building nonfarm dwellings on land zoned for agricultural uses.”
Cent. Oregon Landwatch v. Deschutes Cnty. (Or. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 3× ““(4) Exclusive farm use zoning as provided by law, sub- stantially limits alternatives to the use of rural land and, with the importance of rural lands to the public, justifies incentives and privileges offered to encourage owners of rural lands to hold such lands in exclusive…”
Thompson v. Land Conservation & Dev. Comm'n, 204 P.3d 808 (Or. Ct. App. 2009). “243 and ORS 215.700. “Counties shall establish minimum sizes for new lots or parcels in each agricultural land designation.”
Bruggere v. Clackamas Cnty., 7 P.3d 634 (Or. Ct. App. 2000). “” ORS 215.700(1). The difficulty with that contention is that Lane County traces LCDC’s expansive rulemaking authority over agricultural lands and land uses to a wide array of statutes pertaining to agriculture and to land use regulation generally.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 215.700(1) — 2 cases
Wetherell v. Douglas Cnty., 160 P.3d 614 (Or. 2007). “10 As a matter of state policy, ORS 215.700 allows “certain owners of less productive land an opportunity to build a dwelling on their land[.”
Bruggere v. Clackamas Cnty., 7 P.3d 634 (Or. Ct. App. 2000). “” ORS 215.700(1). The difficulty with that contention is that Lane County traces LCDC’s expansive rulemaking authority over agricultural lands and land uses to a wide array of statutes pertaining to agriculture and to land use regulation generally.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 215.700(2) — 1 case
Cent. Oregon Landwatch v. Deschutes Cnty. (Or. Ct. App. 2024). ““(4) Exclusive farm use zoning as provided by law, sub- stantially limits alternatives to the use of rural land and, with the importance of rural lands to the public, justifies incentives and privileges offered to encourage owners of rural lands to hold such lands in exclusive…”
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