The latest

As a member of the Just Crossing Alliance, 1000 Friends is excited to see our federal partner step in and request the inclusion of a movable lift span as one of the design options for the Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement Program.

This month, the Land Use Board of Appeals rejected a Marion County effort to use the home-occupation statute as a backdoor to open farm and forest lands to businesses hosting large-scale, nonfarm events.

As Metro Council approves UGB swap, we celebrate conditions but remain concerned on regional planning needs

Check your knowledge of Oregon's land use planning system with this answer key.

The 2023 Oregon Legislative session got off to a fast start on January 17, with approximately 2000 bills filed. 1000 Friends is following about 150 that relate to land use, working to pass bills that will lead the land use planning program into the next 50 years, including on housing for all, using land use tools to address climate change, supporting local farmers, and reforming transportation spending to provide more ways for more people to get around.

We will need you to be successful! Read more about what we're tackling and how you can help!

Last month, 1000 Friends of Oregon and Save Helvetia hosted a community panel and discussion on “Oregon’s Tech: Where Could it Land?” at the stunning Ponzi Vineyards fireplace room in Washington County. We heard from panelists about the work of the Oregon Semiconductor Competitiveness Task Force, and problems and solutions around one of the Task Force’s focuses: industrial land availability and readiness. Panelists sparked a lively conversation about challenges and opportunities to position Oregon as a competitive state for investments in chip manufacturing, research, and development authorized under the federal CHIPS and Science Act 2022. 

In a great testament to citizen activism, farmers scored an important victory on the path to stopping a harmful land swap that would bring 163 acres of prime farmland into the Millersburg Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in exchange for a 167.46-acre tract of industrially-zoned land that would be removed from the UGB.

For the past several years, 1000 Friends worked with partners across the state to urge the Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt a set of streamlined land use policies to encourage more housing, especially more affordable housing, and more transportation options to create more equitable communities and address climate pollution. They’re under attack. Here’s the latest...

While we view litigation as a tool of last resort, it’s an activity that is core and critical to protecting our people and planet. To make sure we do this effectively, we recruit and support our talented and committed attorneys. It’s not often we write about the administrative improvements we make for our team, so we’re shining a light on one of these improvements now: our Land Use Lawyering Ladder. 

Tell Washington County Commissioners to vote no on the Ordinance 882 proposal to extend Tile Flat Road which is part of a larger and more concerning plan to create a two-lane road in Washington County — a “de facto Westside Bypass” — that would enable commuters to speed through productive farmland and important habitat.