Green v. Douglas County

Oregon law defines buildings as not being strictly confined to walled structures, but rather as being “normally associated with uses permitted in the zone in which the property is located.”

Respondent Chuck Hester sought to expand his home in Douglas County (county) and applied for an expanded conditional use permit. The county granted the permit and Petitioner Richard Green subsequently appealed the approval to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), arguing that the permit was conveyed erroneously. LUBA, while finding that the county improperly granted the permit, upheld the county's determination that the development met the standards of the Douglas County Land Use and Development Ordinance (LUDO) code requiring that ordinance violations be corrected during the process of development. On appeal, both parties asserted that LUBA misconstrued LUDO in its interpretation of the requirements within the meaning of “building”, which is defined under ORS 215.448(1)(c) as not being strictly confined to walled structures. Under Oregon law, a building is “normally associated with uses permitted in the zone in which the property is located.” Thus, the Court of Appeals held that LUBA did not properly interpret the LUDO code under Oregon law. Reversed and remanded.