Natural Resource News Note:
The Oregonian newspaper featured a front page article on the problems of Measure 49 which is the measure that brought limits to landowner compensation but promised a fast-track process. Three years later, few new homes have been approved and built under the new system with landowners complaining of a process rigged against the landowners. The Oregonian article states:
“Supporters spent nearly $5 million to pass Measure 49 in 2007 and convinced voters that it would resolve problems caused by the passage of Measure 37 three years earlier. With Measure 49, the campaign argument went, most property owners would be allowed to build one to three houses under an “Express Lane” process instead of thousands of homes and rural subdivisions they claimed the right to build under Measure 37. “
But little construction has occurred in the three years since the fix. Some claimants have been turned down for what lawyers say are hyper-technical reasons, counties are interpreting the law differently and — yes — land-use attorneys are parading to the courts for help.
“This was the so-called fast track that was supposed to be easy,” says Dave Hunnicutt, president of the property rights group Oregonians in Action.
Oregon City lawyer Kristen David says the state rejected some of her clients’ development plans and about two dozen have simply given up. She’s asked judges in Clackamas, Hood River and Jackson counties to review and reverse the state findings.
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