OAR 150-308-0355: Filing Requirements for Boundary Changes

(1) A legal description and an accurate map are filed in “final approved form” when the Department of Revenue can approve them with no amendments or corrections needed. (2) The legal description submitted to the department must comply with the requirements set out in ORS 308.225(2)(b) and the following: (a) The point-of-beginning of the legal description must be clear. The point-of-beginning is best described by bearing and distance from a section corner, a donation land claim (DLC) corner, or another well-monumented corner. (b) Bearings and distances must be given for each course around the boundary description unless the description uses the alternatives in ORS 308.225(2)(b)(A)(i) through (vi) or those in ORS 308.225(2)(b)(B). (c) If a deed reference is used as a point-of-call, a copy of the deed must also be submitted. The description must be consistent with or derived from the most recently recorded deed(s) for the affected property. (d) Tax lot numbers cannot be used for the legal description. (e) If the area is large, township, range and section numbers, and quarter-quarter sections may be used in the legal description. (f) If a point-of-call is to a highway or county road, the description must state to which edge or to the centerline. (g) If a point-of-call is to a river or stream, the description must state whether it is on the mean high water, mean low water, thread, ordinary high water, or ordinary low water line. The bearing requirement can be dismissed along rivers and streams. (h) If the boundary change involves a whole county, then the description can refer to its statutory description. Example: “All of Wallowa County as described in ORS 201.320.” (3) The map required by ORS 308.225(2) must comply with the following: (a) The base map(s) used must either be provided by the Department of Revenue, the county assessor, or downloaded from the ORMAP website (www.ormap.net). (b) The map submitted by the taxing district must contain sufficient information to allow confirmation that the map is a true and correct representation of the legal description. (c) If a deed reference is used as a point-of-call in the legal description, the deed number must be included on the map. (4) A person, governing body, officer, administrative agency, or court that files a legal description and map for approval by the Department of Revenue must submit with them a copy of the ordinance, order, or resolution approving the boundary change, or other documentation, that shows the effective date of the boundary change.