Prohibits certain dwellings in sensitive or unsuitable areas within resource lands.

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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Bill 79
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the President of the Senate in conformance with pre-
session filing rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part of the President (at the request
of Senate Interim Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: This Act bans homes not for farm or forest uses in sensitive or unsuitable areas of lands
zoned for farm or forest use. (Flesch Readability Score: 65.7).
Prohibits certain dwellings in sensitive or unsuitable areas within resource lands.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to the regulation of dwellings on resource lands; creating new provisions; and amending
ORS 215.417 and 215.705.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
Section 2 of this 2025 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 215.
SECTION 2. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter and except as pro-
vided in subsection (2) of this section, a county may not allow the siting of a new dwelling
on any land zoned for exclusive farm use, forest use or mixed farm and forest use within an
area that is:
(a) Identified as a high wildfire hazard zone and within the wildland-urban interface on
the statewide wildfire hazard map described in ORS 477.490;
(b) A ground water restricted area, as defined in ORS 195.300;
(c) Designated as essential, limited, important or irreplaceable wildlife habitat;
(d) High priority wildlife movement or habitat connectivity areas identified within the
Wildlife Corridor Action Plan under ORS 496.272; or
(e) High-value farmland as defined in ORS 195.300 or as described in ORS 215.710.
(2) This section does not apply to a dwelling unit:
(a) Allowed under:
(A) ORS 215.213 (1)(d), (f) or (i) or (2)(a) or (b);
(B) ORS 215.278;
(C) ORS 215.283 (1)(d), (e) or (L) or (2)(L);
(D) ORS 215.317 (1)(g);
(E) ORS 215.755 (2); or
(F) ORS 215.757; or
(b) That, as a condition of approval, will be occupied by an individual who will be engaged
in a forest practice, as defined in ORS 527.620, on the dwelling tract or who will be involved
in the management, operation, planning, acquisition or supervision of forest products on the
dwelling tract.
SECTION 3.
ORS 215.705 is amended to read:
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 2052
SB 79
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215.705. (1) A governing body of a county or its designate may allow the establishment of a
single-family dwelling on a lot or parcel located within a farm or forest zone as set forth in this
section and ORS 215.710, 215.720, 215.740 and 215.750 after notifying the county assessor that the
governing body intends to allow the dwelling. A dwelling under this section may be allowed if:
(a) The lot or parcel on which the dwelling will be sited was lawfully created and was acquired
by the present owner:
(A) Prior to January 1, 1985; or
(B) By devise or by intestate succession from a person who acquired the lot or parcel prior to
January 1, 1985.
(b) The tract on which the dwelling will be sited does not include a dwelling.
(c) The proposed dwelling is not prohibited by, and will comply with, the requirements of the
acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use regulations and other provisions of law.
(d) The lot or parcel on which the dwelling will be sited, if zoned for farm use, is not on that
high-value farmland described in ORS 215.710 [ except as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this
section].
(e) The lot or parcel on which the dwelling will be sited, if zoned for forest use, is described in
ORS 215.720, 215.740 or 215.750.
(f) When the lot or parcel on which the dwelling will be sited lies within an area designated in
an acknowledged comprehensive plan as habitat of big game, the siting of the dwelling is consistent
with the limitations on density upon which the acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use
regulations intended to protect the habitat are based.
(g) When the lot or parcel on which the dwelling will be sited is part of a tract, the remaining
portions of the tract are consolidated into a single lot or parcel when the dwelling is allowed.
[(2)(a) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1)(d) of this section, a single-family dwelling
not in conjunction with farm use may be sited on high-value farmland if: ]
[(A) It meets the other requirements of ORS 215.705 to 215.750; ]
[(B) The lot or parcel is protected as high-value farmland as described under ORS 215.710 (1);
and]
[(C) A hearings officer of a county determines that: ]
[(i) The lot or parcel cannot practicably be managed for farm use, by itself or in conjunction with
other land, due to extraordinary circumstances inherent in the land or its physical setting that do not
apply generally to other land in the vicinity. ]
[(ii) The dwelling will comply with the provisions of ORS 215.296 (1). ]
[(iii) The dwelling will not materially alter the stability of the overall land use pattern in the
area.]
[(b) A local government shall provide notice of all applications for dwellings allowed under this
subsection to the State Department of Agriculture. Notice shall be provided in accordance with the
governing body’s land use regulations but shall be mailed at least 20 calendar days prior to the public
hearing before the hearings officer under paragraph (a) of this subsection. ]
[(3) Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (1)(d) of this section, a single-family dwelling
not in conjunction with farm use may be sited on high-value farmland if: ]
[(a) It meets the other requirements of ORS 215.705 to 215.750. ]
[(b) The tract on which the dwelling will be sited is: ]
[(A) Identified in ORS 215.710 (3) or (4); ]
[(B) Not protected under ORS 215.710 (1); and ]
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[(C) Twenty-one acres or less in size. ]
[(c)(A) The tract is bordered on at least 67 percent of its perimeter by tracts that are smaller than
21 acres, and at least two such tracts had dwellings on them on January 1, 1993; ]
[(B) The tract is not a flaglot and is bordered on at least 25 percent of its perimeter by tracts that
are smaller than 21 acres, and at least four dwellings existed on January 1, 1993, within one-quarter
mile of the center of the subject tract. Up to two of the four dwellings may lie within the urban growth
boundary, but only if the subject tract abuts an urban growth boundary; or ]
[(C) The tract is a flaglot and is bordered on at least 25 percent of its perimeter by tracts that are
smaller than 21 acres, and at least four dwellings existed on January 1, 1993, within one-quarter mile
of the center of the subject tract and on the same side of the public road that provides access to the
subject tract. The governing body of a county must interpret the center of the subject tract as the ge-
ographic center of the flaglot if the applicant makes a written request for that interpretation and that
interpretation does not cause the center to be located outside the flaglot. Up to two of the four dwellings
may lie within the urban growth boundary, but only if the subject tract abuts an urban growth
boundary. As used in this subparagraph: ]
[(i) “Flaglot” means a tract containing a narrow strip or panhandle of land providing access from
the public road to the rest of the tract. ]
[(ii) “Geographic center of the flaglot” means the point of intersection of two perpendicular lines
of which the first line crosses the midpoint of the longest side of a flaglot, at a 90-degree angle to that
side, and the second line crosses the midpoint of the longest adjacent side of the flaglot. ]
[(4)] (2) If land is in a zone that allows both farm and forest uses, is acknowledged to be in
compliance with goals relating to both agriculture and forestry and may qualify as an exclusive farm
use zone under this chapter, the county may apply the standards for siting a dwelling under either
subsection (1)(d) of this section or ORS 215.720, 215.740 and 215.750 as appropriate for the predom-
inant use of the tract on January 1, 1993.
[(5)] (3) A county may, by application of criteria adopted by ordinance, deny approval of a
dwelling allowed under this section in any area where the county determines that approval of the
dwelling would:
(a) Exceed the facilities and service capabilities of the area;
(b) Materially alter the stability of the overall land use pattern in the area; or
(c) Create conditions or circumstances that the county determines would be contrary to the
purposes or intent of its acknowledged comprehensive plan or land use regulations.
[(6)] (4) For purposes of subsection (1)(a) of this section, “owner” includes the spouses in a
marriage, son, daughter, parent, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-
law, parent-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, stepparent, stepchild, grandparent or grandchild of
the owner or a business entity owned by any one or combination of these family members.
[(7)] (5) When a local government approves an application for a single-family dwelling under the
provisions of this section, the application may be transferred by a person who has qualified under
this section to any other person after the effective date of the land use decision.
SECTION 4.
ORS 215.417 is amended to read:
215.417. (1) If a permit is approved under ORS 215.416 for a proposed residential development
on agricultural or forest land outside of an urban growth boundary under [ ORS 215.010 to 215.293
or 215.317 to 215.438 ] this chapter or under county legislation or regulation, the permit is valid for
four years.
(2) An extension of a permit described in subsection (1) of this section is valid for two years.
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A county may approve no more than five additional one-year extensions of a permit if:
(a) The applicant makes a written request for the additional extension prior to the expiration
of an extension;
(b) The applicable residential development statute has not been amended following the approval
of the permit, except the amendments to ORS 215.750 by section 1, chapter 433, Oregon Laws 2019;
and
(c) An applicable rule or land use regulation has not been amended following the issuance of the
permit, unless allowed by the county, which may require that the applicant comply with the
amended rule or land use regulation.
(3) An extension of a permit under subsection (2) of this section is not a land use decision as
defined in ORS 197.015.
(4) As used in this section, “residential development” means dwellings provided for under ORS
215.213 [ (1)(q),] (3) and (4), [ 215.283 (1)(p),] 215.284, 215.291, 215.317, 215.705 (1) [ to (3) ], 215.720,
215.740, 215.750 and 215.755 [ (1) and] (3).
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