Dement Ranch v. Curry County Board of Commissioners

ORS 607.020 was repealed by the legislature in 2019. However, nothing in the text of the 2017 version of ORS 607.020(5) implied a contiguity requirement when annexing into an existing livestock district.

Weyerhaeuser successfully petitioned for annexation of its forestlands into the existing Curry County Livestock District pursuant to ORS 607.020(5). Objections from local ranchers and the county’s questioning of the validity of its own order led to a consolidated trial. The trial court vacated and annulled the county’s order, dismissed the remaining claims with prejudice, and entered judgment in favor of Dement. Weyerhaeuser appealed. On appeal, Weyerhaeuser contended that the trial court erred in its conclusion that the annexation was “contrary to an implied contiguity requirement within the statutory scheme applicable to annexation into a livestock district.” Dement and the county argued that “Oregon’s Livestock District statutes require contiguity when annexing to an existing livestock district.” A question of statutory interpretation is reviewed for legal error. See State v. Thompson, 328 Or 248, 256, 971 P2d 879, cert den, 527 US 1042 (1999). The court will “ascertain the legislature’s intentions by examining the text of the statute in its context, along with any relevant legislative history, and, if necessary, canons of construction.” State v. Cloutier, 351 Or 68, 75, 261 P3d 1234 (2011) (citing State v. Gaines, 346 Or 160, 171-73, 206 P3d 1042 (2009)). The Court found that the legislature’s use of the phrase “any area” in ORS 607.020(5) demonstrates the legislature’s intention for “any area” to encompass both contiguous and noncontiguous lands and that, had the legislature intended to restrict the “areas” eligible for annexation, it could have included a mandatory contiguity requirement. But it did not. Thus, the Court held that, “at the time Weyerhaeuser’s forestlands were annexed into the Curry County Livestock District, ORS chapter 607 did not preclude noncontiguous annexations.” Reversed and remanded.