Earlier this year, the Oregon Legislature approved House Bill 2225, a new law that has significant implications for rural property owners, particularly those with land zoned for forest use. This bill, which modifies the longstanding “template dwelling” statute found in ORS 215.750, affects over eight million acres of private land in Oregon, impacting a substantial number of Oregonians.
For more than 40 years, Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) has made it challenging for owners of farm and forest land to build homes on their property. While allowing property owners to build a single home on their land is considered a basic right in 49 other states, Oregon has enacted a complex set of statutes and rules that complicate this process for rural residents. HB 2225 continues this trend, making it even harder for rural Oregonians to live on their own property.
The primary method for obtaining approval to build a home on forest-zoned land in Oregon is through an application for a “template dwelling.” The “template dwelling” statute, found in ORS 215.750, derives its name from the specific requirements set forth in the law. To receive approval for a template dwelling, a county must place a 160-acre template on a map of the property in question and count the number of neighboring parcels and dwellings within the template. If there are enough parcels and dwellings wholly or partially within the template, the property owner qualifies for a dwelling.