Malheur County Court signs off on land-use repeal resolution
Move made Wednesday by elected leaders
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Sunday, December 23, 2007 12:52 AM PST
VALE - In a move that essentially marks the end of Ballot Measure 37 demands in the county, the Malheur County Court Wednesday passed a resolution to repeal previous mandates regarding how the county handled land use claims.
The court action was recommended by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (ODLCD) officials during a recent video conference regarding Ballot Measure 49.
Oregon voters approved Ballot Measure 49 in November, a directive that alters some of the provisions of Ballot Measure 37.
Ballot Measure 37, approved by voters two years ago, allowed some property owners to seek relief, including compensation from counties, if they could show that land use decisions made after they purchased their property had caused a loss of value.
Under Ballot Measure 37, most counties elected not to provide compensation, but instead opted to waive existing land use regulations to allow property owners to move ahead with development plans.
Although most Ballot Measure 37 requests to the Malheur County Court have been approved, not all applicants delivered applications with the state as needed, Malheur County Planner Jon Beal said, and those claims are no longer recognized.
Only those Ballot Measure 37 claims submitted to the state before June 28 or approved by the state are automatically being changed to Ballot Measure 49 claims, and those applicants will be informed by ODLCD what their options are, Beal said.
New claims can be filed only against land use regulations adopted after Jan. 1.
Beal said Wednesday there are already court challenges being prepared against the new measure.
Ballot Measure 49 limits the number of homes on parcels of land and limits the sized of subdivisions.
