LEGAL WIN | Court of Appeals rules against loophole allowing hotels on farmland
1000 Friends, in partnership with Friends of Yamhill County, recently won a case that prevents misuse of the home occupation statute to build hotels on Yamhill County farmland. The ruling, at the Oregon Court of Appeals, is important to safeguarding our farmland across the state, where our land use system consistently protects our farms from being picked apart, and their land diverted for unintended, non-farm activities.
Mid-Session Legislative Recap
Now that we’re midway through the 2023 legislative session, we have dozens of bills to review that relate to housing, natural and working lands, transportation, climate, wildfires, threats to urban growth boundaries, semiconductors, budgets, and rulemaking. This is an update to our original 2023 legislative overview.
Farms, forests and watersheds, or factories? Oregon can have them all
Our state is poised for success, with at least eight semiconductor applications already in motion — on land already designated for industrial use — to bring federal funding and more high quality jobs to our state. However, SB 4 includes a potential trap that Oregon must be vigilant in avoiding if we are to declare success: unprecedented authority given to the governor regarding land.
Bad bill to repeal Climate Friendly & Equitable Communities languishes in House committee
Since the introduction of House Bill 2659 earlier this session, 1000 Friends has been working in coalition with other groups to stop this bad bill – an attempt to effectively repeal the Climate Friendly & Equitable Communities program. Now we're seeing signs of lack of enthusiasm for it. Read more about its status.
Grassroots Efforts Saved 163 Acres of Linn County Farmland
Advocacy from the Linn County community helped preserve a tract of prime farmland, saving it from becoming industrial land as part of a land swap proposed by the City of Millersburg. Local public efforts ensured that this land remained outside the UGB as farmland, instead of forever losing acres of rich soil that feed our state.
Housing Update: HB 2001 passes, plus other housing bills on the move
Midway through 2023’s legislative session, we’re bringing you a short housing roundup, including a win we’re celebrating and the other housing bills we’re still supporting. The seven housing bills we are still working on in the legislature are all aimed at making it easier to build more affordable and diverse housing that’s located close to the things people need to get to, such as schools, stores, parks, and more.
Looking back at the Oregon Climate Action Plan
Meaningful climate action is necessary to defend the health and future of Oregon. In 2020, Governor Kate Brown signed executive order 20-04 establishing the Oregon Climate Action Plan (OCAP), a bold set of actions by state agencies to address our changing climate. In this Oregon Stories, we look back at OCAP and its successes, as well as highlight the future of the land use planning system and how we can use it to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
UPDATED | Senate Bill 4: We Can Welcome Semiconductors AND Protect Lands
A win-win is possible for semiconductor expansion applications and Oregon’s farms, forests, and watersheds. But the window of opportunity closes in two months—our state must act now!
Since the introduction of Senate Bill 4 (SB 4)—which focuses, in part, on ways to support the expansion of the semiconductor industry’s footprint in Oregon—1000 Friends, local land use groups, and hundreds of Oregonians have urged the State’s Joint Committee on Semiconductors to act fast and strategically to meet the May 2023 application deadline.