We litigate cases to enforce and uphold the land use planning system. In coordination with local organizations that we serve through our affiliate program and our Cooperating Attorney Program, our staff attorneys also provide pro bono legal resources and representation to Oregonians in land use cases consistent with our mission.
Campean v. Clackamas County (Land Use Board of Appeals)
Our farm and forest zones in each county are set aside for growing crops, raising livestock, and harvesting timber. When property owners in these special zones begin hosting weddings and fundraisers, these commercial events and activities can have major impacts on neighboring farmers, ranchers, and timberland managers.
In order to avoid dust, noise, and unpleasant smells that could ruin the event next door, operators may have to change their fertilization schedule, or miss a harvest window. Traffic associated with commercial events can make it difficult or impossible to move farm or forest machinery on narrow, winding rural roads. Forced changes like these can make farming and forestry more difficult and cut into the operator’s bottom line. It is therefore critical to study the potential impacts of new commercial events and activities in our farm and forest zones and design conditions on the non-agricultural uses to ensure these negative effects are mitigated, before approving an event hosting permit.
In Campean v. Clackamas County, the County denied an application for a permit to host weddings and other events in the county’s forest timber zone because the applicant failed to study and consider the potential impacts on neighboring farm and forest practices. The applicant filed an appeal of the County’s denial with the Land Use Board of Appeals. In January 2026, 1000 Friends of Oregon, alongside neighbors and the local community planning organization, intervened on the side of the County to help uphold the denial.
Our small-town and urban venues offer fantastic settings for weddings and other events. We don’t need to sacrifice productive farm and forest lands for these urban and commercial uses. 1000 Friends is committed to working with our partners to push back on intrusions onto resource land, so that we can keep Oregon the special place we all get to call home.
Status: Currently before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals
Counsel: John Butterfield representing 1000 Friends of Oregon and our partners
Friends of Marion County v. Marion County (Land Use Board of Appeals)
1000 Friends of Oregon has partnered with our affiliate organization, Friends of Marion County, to appeal Marion County’s approval of the conversion of 20 acres of high-value farmland into rural residential housing. This is the second appeal of this conversion, after the Land Use Board of Appeals previously agreed with all of 1000 Friends’ and Friends of Marion County’s arguments as to why the conversion was illegal.
Despite this ruling, Marion County has once again approved the conversion. The County is attempting to use a provision of the land use planning system that allows properties that are “irrevocably committed” to nonfarm use to be removed from exclusive farm use zoning. But the conflicts the County relies on are not supported by the evidence on the ground, so 1000 Friends and Friends of Marion County have returned to the Land Use Board of Appeals to appeal the decision again.
Status: Currently before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals
Counsel: John Butterfield representing Friends of Marion County
1000 Friends of Oregon et al. v. City of North Plains (Land Use Board of Appeals)
1000 Friends of Oregon and other smart growth advocates have appealed the City of North Plains’ Housing Needs Analysis, which relies on outdated population-growth estimates. Ensuring cities and counties use accurate, up-to-date forecasts for housing and employment needs ensures that working lands aren’t sacrificed for development that never materializes.
1000 Friends remains committed to ensuring that Oregon’s unique land use planning system is not compromised by short-term expansion goals and will be asking the Land Use Board of Appeals to remand North Plains’ HNA for revisions to reflect sensible population projections for the City going forward.
Case name: City of North Plains HNA
Status: Currently before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals
Counsel: John Butterfield and Eve Goldman representing 1000 Friends of Oregon
UGB Addition of Sherwood West Area, Metro Ordinance No. 24-1520 (Land Conservation and Development Commission Appeal)
Metro, the regional governing body for the greater Portland area, is charged with managing the regional Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), working with citizens, elected leaders, and researchers to plan for future growth and meet the needs for housing, jobs, and transportation. Every six years, Metro assesses whether there is enough capacity inside the UGB for 20 years of housing and job growth.
In response to the Metro Council's call for city submissions for expansion proposals, the City of Sherwood proposed bringing in the 1,291-acre Sherwood West urban reserve to support regional housing and employment needs. On December 5, 2024, following several rounds of public comments, the Metro Council adopted Ordinance No.24-1520, amending the existing UGB to include the Sherwood West area. 1000 Friends, along with nine other parties, filed objections to the UGB amendment submittal.
1000 Friends' main concern was that the Metro Council failed to consider both reasonable measures to use land within the existing UGB to meet the estimated needs of the project and alternative sites for the proposed UGB expansion. In April 2025, the DLCD Director approved the UGB expansion. Seven parties, including 1000 Friends, appealed the Director's decision to Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). LCDC heard the appeal at its September 2025 meeting. We are currently awaiting LCDC's final written decision and will consider all available options upon review of the decision.
Case name: Sherwood UGB Proposal
Status: Currently awaiting a final written decision from the Land Conservation and Development Commission
Counsel: Eve Goldman representing 1000 Friends of Oregon and Tualatin Riverkeepers