Our impact

A legal win years in the making prevents an illegal roadway expansion across a Washington County development area, protecting vulnerable riparian environments and valuable farmland.

The county had rezoned 710 acres of rangeland for sprawling residential development, potentially impacting the farmability of nearby land in violation of state land use law.

The ruling prevents potential unwarranted UGB expansion and threat valuable surrounding farmland, a win for the careful way we set our urban growth boundaries so that our communities don’t sprawl onto the irreplaceable lands that feed our region and support our economy.

1000 Friends, in partnership with Friends of Yamhill County, won a case that prevents misuse of the home occupation statute to build hotels on Yamhill County farmland. The ruling is important to safeguarding farmland across the state, where our land use system protects farms from being picked apart for unintended, non-farm activities.

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. 1000 Friends of Oregon and Friends of Marion County, which had appealed Marion County’s code amendments, applaud LUBA’s recent decision. 

The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) overturned Columbia County’s approval of a 400-car rail yard proposed in tandem with a new major refinery at Port Westward. LUBA reversed the County’s decision because the rail yard is not allowed on farm land.

An August 24, 2022, decision by the Oregon Court of Appeals means there is now a successful example of a small community – in both Oregon and the wider United States – that has passed revolutionary zoning reform to allow a slew of housing types in residential zones. 

In a win for 1000 Friends of Oregon and Rogue Advocates, the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruled against Josephine County’s request to turn about 90 acres of forestland into a residential subdivision.

The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has ruled that junkyards are not an appropriate use of agricultural land. 1000 Friends of Oregon represented petitioners in their fight against Lake County over the County’s decision to allow a junkyard and auto wrecking yard on farmland. 

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that short-term rentals are not allowed on farm or forest land without a permit – a big win for 1000 Friends and a big win for farmers. 

In a win by 1000 Friends – representing Friends of Douglas County – for residents of Douglas County, the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) remanded a decision by the Douglas County Commission to essentially create a new type of zone through an ordinance that would allow for more development in areas of fire risk, big game habitat, and farm and forestland. 

1000 Friends of Oregon, Columbia Riverkeeper and farmers at Port Westward celebrated a decision by the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) that maintains protections for 837 acres of high-value farmland in the midst of prime salmon habitat.