Vannett Properties, LLC v. Lane County

Under Measure 49, “the authority to convert a lot to an authorized home site is not automatically transferred from a claimant to a subsequent owner simply by a sale of a lot.”

Vannett Properties, LLC appealed a general judgment determining that intervenor Decker retained the ability to select which lots within a fifteen-lot property to convert to authorized home sites. Vannett assigned error to the trial court’s interpretation of Measure 49, section 11(7), determining Vannett could not exercise “Measure 49 home site authorization.” On appeal, Vannett argued that Measure 49 home site authorization is an appurtenant property right attached to the lot it purchased. In response, Decker argued that the right to determine which of the lots to designate as authorized home sites did not transfer automatically with the conveyance of an individual lot. Under Measure 49, “the authority to convert a lot to an authorized home site is not automatically transferred from a claimant to a subsequent owner simply by a sale of a lot.” The Court found that the Department of Land Conservation and Development may grant a claimant home site authorization, dictated by the terms of its final order. Here, the order gave Decker the right to receive a maximum of three home sites on the fifteen-lot property and allowed Decker as the claimant to “select which existing lots, parcels or dwellings to convert to a home site.” Affirmed