| Press Release |
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| January 19, 2007 |
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Governor Urges Legislature to Put Small Landowners at Front of the Line
Calls for short-term and long-term solutions to protect small landowners under Measure 37
Salem – Today Governor Ted Kulongoski called on the legislature to address the thousands of claims filed at both the state and local levels under Measure 37, and to use this opportunity with the newly announced Joint Special Committee on Land Use Fairness to work on both short-term and long-term solutions to restore fairness, certainty and predictability for landowners, their neighbors and Oregon's communities.
The volume of claims filed in the final weeks of last year is creating a backlog for landowners, the Governor said in a letter to Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Jeff Merkley. The Governor pointed out that half of the 6,491 claims filed with the state and Oregon's cities and counties were filed during the final weeks of 2006, and committed that his goal was to ensure small landowners moved to the front of the line.
The Governor underscored that the state is committed to implementing Measure 37 with due diligence, highlighting that, "We estimate that fewer than a thousand of these claims came from property owners asking to build a home on land they bought for that purpose years ago. Their requests represent the reasons that voters supported Measure 37 in 2004. And, we would like to continue to process these requests as quickly as possible."
The Governor also raised concerns about the time constraints provided under the measure, which requires state and local governments to process and adjudicate all claims filed within 180 days, either approving the claims or paying compensation. This timeline in conjunction with the magnitude of claims and limited resources has created greater challenges for both state and local entities to provide fair responses to landowners and Oregon's communities.
"Oregon is facing a forced choice as the 180-day clock runs down – either allow these developments to proceed, with irreversible impacts on local communities, or pay compensation for speculative claims that we cannot afford to pay," the Governor wrote. "Oregonians now recognize the unintended consequences of Measure 37. They are demanding and they deserve – better options than the forced choices that confront us under Measure 37."
The Governor applauded the legislature's leadership on developing a joint committee to address these issues and committed to working with Co-Chairs Senator Floyd Prozanski and Representative Greg MacPherson in the coming weeks and months to, "protect the rights of owners to build a home on land they bought for that purpose and to create other options for resolving claims for subdivisions and non-residential uses."
For the text of the Governor's letter, go to: http://www.oregon.gov/Gov/docs/M37011907.pdf
Contact:
Anna Richter Taylor: 503-378-6169
Kristina Edmunson, 503-378-5040
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