The Effects of Regional Land Use Control in Oregon: A Theoretical and Empirical Review

This paper examines the impact of state government in the Oregon land use program. For several reasons the State of Oregon offers an ideal setting for examining the impact of state participation in land use regulation. First, Oregon is a pioneer in statewide land use regulation. The Oregon land use statutes were enacted in 1973, long enough ago to have had measurable impacts. Second, the Oregon land use program requires both state and local participation in land use regulation. In 1974 the Oregon State Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC), a governor-appointed commission, adopted 19 statewide land use goals and guidelines. Subsequently, every local government had to construct comprehensive land use plans in conformance with these goals and guidelines or suffer stiff non-compliance penalties and/or state preemption of land use authority. Compliance with the goals and guidelines is determined through an acknowledgement process by the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), the administrative arm of the LCDC. All of the comprehensive plans of the 246 local governments have now been acknowledged by the DLCD. As a result, the Oregon land use program contains a mix of state and local land use controls. Third, the Oregon land use program has been the subject of considerable theoretical and empirical research. This research offers insights into the impacts of state participation in land use regulation.