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.
1000 Friends of Oregon, Neighbors for Clean Air, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center v. City of Portland (Land Use Board of Appeals)
Partner Crag Law represents 1000 Friends of Oregon, Neighbors for Clean Air, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center in a challenge to the City of Portland's building permits for the controversial Prologis freight warehouse slated for construction on the former Kmart site at NE 122nd and Sandy in Portland. The city approved the permits without conducting any impact analyses or addressing community concerns regarding safety, health, and quality-of-life impacts with meaningful and enforceable protections.
Case name: Argay Terrace Warehouse Distribution Center
Status: Appealed to LUBA
Counsel: Crag Law on behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon, Neighbors for Clean Air, and Northwest Environmental Defense Center
1000 Friends of Oregon v. Lake County (Land Use Board of Appeals)
1000 Friends of Oregon and a neighboring landowner Lisa Hammonds have challenged Lake County's decision to permit a junkyard on farmland as a "site for the disposal of solid waste." This is the second attempt by the applicant to permit a junkyard at this location. The applicant wants to open up retail metal sales and store vehicles and old appliances and many other materials on 28 acres of rangeland. 1000 Friends has argued that the statute was intended to permit, as a limited exception, landfills and other sites intended to actually dispose of solid waste on farmland. These are uses that are difficult to locate inside cities and towns. In contrast, junkyards and scrapyards do not dispose of material on site; they are light industrial uses that are commonly found and easily located near customers on industrial zoned lands. Farmland is valuable land for raising food; it is not, should not be, and is not needed as place to store junk.
Case name: Hambleton Disposal Site
Status: Being briefed at LUBA
Counsel: Andrew Mulkey for 1000 Friends of Oregon and Lisa Hammonds
1000 Friends of Oregon v. Washington County (Land Use Board of Appeals)
1000 Friends of Oregon appealed Washington County’s transportation plan amendment that would route roadway through farmland.
Case name: Ordinance 882 Tile Flat Road
Status: Awaiting Record/Record Objections
Counsel: Andrew Mulkey on behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon
Cottrell Community Planning Organization et al. v. Multnomah County et. al. (Land Use Board of Appeals)
1000 Friends of Oregon intervened on behalf of the side of petitioners in an appeal of Multnomah County’s approval of a water treatment facility. The proposed water treatment facility would be built to serve City of Portland residents in the county's MUA zone, which restricts utility uses that serve local residents. The construction of the facility, its pipelines, and associated road closures would disrupt area farms and nursery operations.
Case name: Portland Water Bureau
Status: Record Objections
Counsel: Andrew Mulkey on behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon
Friends of Marion County v. Marion County (Land Use Board of Appeals)
Friends of Marion County, represented by 1000 Friends of Oregon, challenged a county’s decision to allow large event and wedding venues to operate events for hundreds of people as a “home occupation.” This is the second ordinance of this kind that Friends of Marion County has appealed. In this case, the county amended a prior home occupation event venue ordinance previously been remanded by LUBA.
Case name: Home Occupation Events II
Status: Being briefed at LUBA
Counsel: Andrew Mulkey on behalf of 1000 Friends of Oregon
Friends of Yamhill County v. Yamhill County (Oregon Supreme Court)
At the Court of Appeals, 1000 Friends of Oregon successfully overturned a LUBA decision that would have allowed an applicant for a dwelling to construct any type of building pursuant to a land use approval for a farm dwelling – even commercial or industrial buildings – so long as the resulting structure could be used as a long-term residence. In this case, the applicant seeks to construct a hotel – designed to the standards that appear in the state’s commercial building code – pursuant to a prior land use permit that authorized the applicant to establish a “primary farm dwelling customarily provided in conjunction with farm use.” The local code also defines the term “dwelling” as a “single-family dwelling,” and specifically excludes buildings such as hotels and motels from its definition. The applicant petitioned the Supreme Court for review, and the Supreme Court accepted review.
Case name: Grange Hill
Status: Awaiting decision by the Oregon Supreme Court
Counsel: Andrew Mulkey for Friends of Yamhill County