Land Use Policy:
Utilize Oregon land use laws and regulations more effectively to preserve the rural character and safeguard the unique and distinctive qualities of rural Eastern Oregon communities.
Ensure that farm and forestry zones, and mixtures thereof, are limited to farm and forestry uses only. Protect the integrity of wetland, riparian and other conservation areas.
Support land use legislation that categorizes factory farming or animal factories as an industrial use rather than a farm use.
Require that any development, including residential development NOT deplete any aquifer or damage the ecological integrity of the watershed.
Ensure that counties complete periodic review of their comprehensive plans in a timely fashion, with public hearings to set tasks, and enact ordinances to ensure that current best practices are followed in any authorized development and that the criteria of the 19 Goals of Senate Bill 100 are being met.
Enable the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) and the courts to fully interpret the meaning and application of local land use law.
Expand the definition of persons affected by development proposals in order to guarantee that all stakeholders in rural communities are notified in a timely manner and have an opportunity to respond.
Support current statutes that set the standards for who can challenge land use decisions.
Work to educate citizens about land use decisions that affect their communities, as well as to expand awareness of and the opportunities for citizen involvement in the decision-making process.
Support the preservation and conservation of open spaces for the public benefit. Ensure a sustainable supply of agricultural land and forestlands, free from development, so that our future food and resource needs can be met in perpetuity. Support the intrinsic values of local land conservation efforts by local land trusts such as the Blue Mountains Conservancy, as well as other local, regional and national land conservation organizations.
Support the responsible and sustainable management of our public lands and help ensure that they are given adequate protection for future generations to enjoy. Work to challenge poor legislation and threats that seek to undermine Oregon's land use laws and regulations to preserve our ecological and economical land-based assets and our unique rural heritage.
