76th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2012 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 104
Senate Bill 1584
Sponsored by Senator FERRIOLI (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Authorizes development of resort-style amenities by owner of
heritage guest ranch. Exempts development from specified
provisions of land use planning statutes, statewide land use
planning goals and acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use
regulations.
Declares emergency, effective on passage.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to resort-style amenities; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + The Legislative Assembly finds and declares
that:
(1) Working farms and cattle ranches make vital contributions
to this state by:
(a) Providing jobs, agricultural products, tax base, tourism
and other social and economic benefits;
(b) Helping to maintain soil, air and water resources;
(c) Reducing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; and
(d) Providing habitat for wildlife and aquatic life.
(2) New methods must be developed to facilitate continued
management of private farms and cattle ranches as population
growth, escalating land values, increasing risks from wildfire
and invasive species, and changes in land ownership or management
objectives, result in increased conflict with dispersed
residential development.
(3) The public policy of the State of Oregon is to:
(a) Encourage, and explore alternative methods to encourage,
the continued management of private farmlands and forestlands for
timber production, agricultural production and cattle ranching.
(b) Protect water quality, wildlife habitat and other important
natural resources by:
(A) Increasing development density, where appropriate, in
existing low-density residential development areas;
(B) Creating new or additional tourism or agri-tourism
amenities, in existing development areas and in such a manner as
to coexist with farms and cattle ranches; and
(C) Exploring ways to create a cooperative relationship between
residential development and agricultural production and to
establish a demonstration project.
(4) It is in the public interest of the State of Oregon to
support the reintroduction of native fish to Whychus Creek as
well as to gain a better understanding of how stream systems work
through research and education. The Legislative Assembly finds
that these goals can be accomplished by:
(a) Offering incentives to encourage landowner participation in
conservation programs and securing conservation easements; and
(b) Working with nonprofit organizations to create educational
programs and outdoor classrooms to facilitate research and
education within the Whychus Creek watershed in the Deschutes
River Basin. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) As used in this section:
(a) 'Common ownership' means ownership by related family
members or by entities owned by related family members.
(b) 'Heritage guest ranch' is a resort that contains
resort-style amenities similar to some of the amenities found at
a guest ranch or a destination resort that is on two or more
tracts in eastern Oregon, as defined in ORS 321.700, and that:
(A) Contains at least 1,000 acres;
(B) Includes a tourism amenity such as a golf course;
(C) Is, as of January 1, 2012, held in common ownership; and
(D) Is located on land:
(i) That is either zoned for exclusive farm use or subject to a
local zoning classification that allows multiple-use agriculture,
rural residential use or surface mining;
(ii) At least two-thirds of which is mapped as eligible for
destination resort siting; and
(iii) A portion of which is adjacent to Whychus Creek and
includes spawning beds in which native fish have been
reintroduced.
(c) 'Heritage guest ranch development area' or ' development
area' means certain property within a heritage guest ranch
consisting of not more than 50 percent of the total acreage of
the heritage guest ranch.
(d) 'Tract' has the meaning given that term in ORS 215.010.
(2) Subject to approval of a master plan that conforms to the
requirements of this section by the county that has land use
jurisdiction, an owner of a heritage guest ranch may develop, as
an outright permitted use, resort-type amenities in the heritage
guest ranch development area and roads, utility corridors and
utility facilities, as described in subsection (5) of this
section, that are necessary to serve the development area
notwithstanding contrary provisions of:
(a) ORS chapters 195, 196, 197, 215 and 227 and the
administrative rules authorized by those chapters;
(b) Statewide land use planning goals and the administrative
rules implementing the goals; and
(c) The acknowledged comprehensive plan and land use
regulations that would otherwise apply to the development area.
(3) The heritage guest ranch development area may include:
(a) Restaurants, meeting and conference facilities and
commercial uses to serve the needs of visitors to the heritage
guest ranch;
(b) Developed recreational facilities, including, but not
limited to, tennis courts, spas, equestrian facilities, swimming
pools and bicycle and hiking paths;
(c) Up to one unit of residential or overnight accommodations,
including but not limited to single-family houses, lodging units,
cabins, condominiums, townhouses or units in fractional
ownership, per 2.5 acres of the heritage guest ranch;
(d) Motorcoach resort facilities with up to 100 spaces;
(e) Accessory amenities and services, including no more than
one golf course and golf-related facilities developed on or after
January 1, 2012;
(f) Roads, utilities and maintenance and security facilities
that are necessary to support the development area; and
(g) Uses lawfully established before and operating on the
effective date of this 2012 Act and uses approved before
effective date of this 2012 Act, but not yet developed.
(4) Development of the heritage guest ranch development area
may occur in phases at the discretion of the owner and is subject
to all of the following requirements:
(a) At least 25 percent of the units of residential and
overnight accommodations must be designed to encourage and
facilitate use as overnight accommodations.
(b) Overnight accommodations that are not lodging units,
timeshares or units in fractional ownership must incorporate the
following design restrictions:
(A) Detached single-family houses and cabins may not be sited
on lots or parcels that exceed 5,000 square feet;
(B) Detached single-family houses, cabins, condominium units
and townhouses may not exceed 1,800 square feet; and
(C) Detached single-family houses, cabins, condominium units
and townhouses may not have more than one single-car garage for
each unit.
(c) To minimize effects of the development area on uses on
surrounding lands, the owner may develop buffers, including
natural vegetation and, where appropriate, fences, berms,
landscaped areas and similar types of buffers, between the
development area and adjacent land uses.
(d) For the purpose of mitigating impacts to nearby areas as
residential units are developed, the owner of the heritage guest
ranch shall cause deed restrictions to be placed on the land to
ensure that assessments and fish and wildlife habitat enhancement
credits are paid. When the owner of a lot or parcel obtains a
building permit, the owner of the lot or parcel shall pay an
assessment:
(A) To offset the costs of increased usage of capital
improvements, to:
(i) The closest city, within 10 miles of the heritage guest
ranch development area, in the amount of $1,000; and
(ii) The school foundation of the school district in which the
heritage guest ranch development area is located, in the amount
of $2,500.
(B) For wildlife habitat enhancement, to the State Department
of Fish and Wildlife, or to a nonprofit corporation that is tax
exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 with a focus on the environment and education, in the amount
of $2,500.
(e) The owner of the heritage guest ranch shall cause
conservation easements under ORS 271.715 to 271.795 to be placed
on special-view corridors. The owner shall place a conservation
easement on all of the following:
(A) The spawning beds and flood plain areas of Whychus Creek.
The conservation easement must limit uses in and adjacent to the
spawning beds and flood plain areas to:
(i) Recreational activities that have a low impact on the
environment, including, but not limited to hiking, biking,
horseback riding and fishing;
(ii) Stream enhancement; and
(iii) Education and research.
(B) At least 70 percent of prime or unique farm land in the
heritage guest ranch. The conservation easement must limit the
uses to:
(i) Agricultural use; and
(ii) Agricultural research performed in cooperation with the
Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station.
(5) Roads, utility corridors and utility facilities necessary
to serve the heritage guest ranch development area are outright
permitted uses within the development area and on nearby lands.
Roads in the development area:
(a) Must be all-weather roads;
(b) May remain unpaved in certain areas to discourage motor
vehicle use in sensitive areas of the heritage guest ranch; and
(c) Must be wide enough to accommodate emergency equipment.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, a use
authorized by this section must be constructed in the heritage
guest ranch development area. For purposes of this subsection, a
use approved before the effective date of this 2012 Act is not a
use authorized by this section.
(7) The owner of the heritage guest ranch may submit an
application to the county that has land use jurisdiction for
approval of a master plan for the development and use of the
heritage guest ranch development area pursuant to this section.
(8) If a county that has land use jurisdiction receives an
application for approval of a master plan for the development and
use of the development area pursuant to this section, the county
shall approve the master plan if the county finds that the master
plan:
(a) Demonstrates that the important natural features of the
development area and associated property, including but not
limited to habitat of threatened or endangered species, streams,
rivers and significant wetlands, will be retained. The county may
authorize alteration of important natural features, including the
placement of structures that maintain the overall values of the
natural features, under the county's applicable acknowledged
comprehensive plan and land use regulations.
(b) Demonstrates that the development area and associated
property will be managed to provide significant public benefits
in the form of:
(A) Wildlife and aquatic habitat improvements, including tree
planting, enhancement of riparian areas and restoration of
meadows for wildlife; and
(B) Training and education programs about the environment,
sustainable ranching and wildlife rehabilitation.
(c) Demonstrates that the development area and associated
property will be managed to:
(A) Provide a significant number of permanent jobs in the local
area;
(B) Encourage the growth of ancillary and support businesses in
the area; and
(C) Encourage expansion of tourism opportunities for the county
and to provide, in conjunction with Oregon State University,
another educational institution in the State of Oregon or a
nonprofit corporation with a focus on the environment and
education, opportunities to educate the public about sustainable
ranching and wildlife rehabilitation.
(d) Contains design criteria and standards that promote
sustainability in the development area. The criteria and
standards must:
(A) Promote energy and water conservation;
(B) Reduce, based on consultation with the State Department of
Fish and Wildlife, adverse impacts of development on wildlife;
and
(C) Reduce, based on consultation with the State Forestry
Department, wildfire risk.
(e) Demonstrates that residential development and overnight
accommodations will be clustered to minimize adverse impacts on
fish and wildlife.
(f) Includes a proposed plat to create lots for the first phase
of development in the development area.
(9) The county planning director may:
(a) Approve by administrative review an amendment to an
approved master plan or an associated land division plan; or
(b) If the county planning director determines that the
proposed change may impact the findings made pursuant to
subsection (8) of this section, refer the amendment to the
governing body of the county for review. If the county planning
director refers a proposed amendment to the governing body of the
county, the governing body shall approve the proposed change if
the master plan, as amended, or the associated land division
plan, as amended, remains consistent with the requirements of
this section.
(10) The county shall:
(a) Apply only the provisions of this section and the master
plan as standards and criteria for approval or amendment of the
master plan and applications for associated land divisions and
development permits submitted pursuant to this section; and
(b) Process the master plan and applications for associated
land divisions as land use applications pursuant to the
procedural review provisions of the acknowledged comprehensive
plan and land use regulations. + }
SECTION 3. { + This 2012 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2012 Act takes effect on its
passage. + }
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