Friends of Yamhill County v. Board of Commissioners

"[T]he present owner of the property is the only person whom a governing body may allow 'to use the property for a use permitted at the time the owner acquired the property.'" Former ORS 197.352(8) (2005)

Friends of Yamhill County and the State of Oregon appealed a judgment affirming Yamhill County's determination that Claimants had a vested right under Ballot Measure 49, § 5(3) (2007).  Appellants assigned error to the writ-of-review court's affirmation of the county's determination that Claimants had vested rights to complete the subdivision.  On appeal, Appellants argued that ORS 215.130 required nonconforming use of land to be continuous and a county ordinance implementing that statute extinguished Claimants' claim. Additionally, Appellants argued that the county misconstrued the law by relying on builder testimony on costs.  In response, Claimants argued that ORS 215.130 did not apply to a vested rights proceeding and that the builder's testimony was valid for showing likely costs of building homes in the subdivision.  "[T]he present owner of the property is the only person whom a governing body may allow 'to use the property for a use permitted at the time the owner acquired the property.'" Former ORS 197.352(8) (2005). The Court held that the circuit court erred because buyers of lots cannot build houses pursuant to claimants' Measure 37 waivers, so all other uses of the property, other than farming, are prohibited by zoning regulations and therefore did not satisfy the Measure 49 § 5(3) waiver requirements. 

Reversed and remanded.