This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE      4/12/05

                  If you were one of those who voted for Measure 37 to force government agencies to pay you if they devalued your property in one way or another……you might be surprised at what the Legislature has in mind.

                  They are at work on a bill called 1037 which would greatly revamp the intentions of the voters when they passed Measure 37 by a 65 percent vote.

                  Our understanding of the measure was that it certainly applied to those farmers who wanted to retire….they could split off their home site and let family members build a house on the balance, but apparently that is not yet the case.

                  One provision of the proposed legislation would take those cases out of the process if they owned the property prior to 1995.  

                  However, that provision is being hotly contested by some large ranchers as well as the Thousand Friends of Oregon…..who see it as a menace that could destroy some land use planning.

                  One provision in the proposed bill would split farm land into three classes.  So-called high grade farmland would not be eligible for Measure 37 action.   Mid-grade farmland would be eligible after a two year moratorium in which legislators would created a finance provision to buy such land, low grade farmland would be open to rural development such as a two acre home site and country stores.

                  The bill would require Measure 37 claimants to submit ownership information, a list of restrictions that reduce land value, a description of how the property would be used with a waiver, and in most cases an appraisal of the property.  Applicants would have to pay a “reasonable” processing fee which the current measure does not require.

                  The Thousand Friends of Oregon are aggressively campaigning for a provision that would permit developers to purchase credits from successful Measure 47 waivers and they could develop in what they termed “receiving zones” that would have been set aside by governments purely for residential growth.    In other words….inside current urban growth areas.   They maintain this would permit one to profit from the sale of the land, yet would leave control of development with local governments.

                  The proposed bill, thus far, fails to address two contested issues:  whether new development rights transfer when the land is sold, and whether to set up a compensation system.  With the state scratching to finance its current proposed budget…..such compensation funds might be difficult to find.

                  It appears that the same old struggles that occurred under iron-clad LCDC rules now threaten to overturn the will of the people…..and again take away the property rights provision that was passed by the people.

                  The actions of the Legislature on Bill 1037 need careful attention.

                  This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.