OAR 660-027-0060: Factors for Designation of Lands as Rural Reserves

(1) When identifying and selecting lands for designation as rural reserves under this division, a county shall indicate which land was considered and designated in order to provide long-term protection to the agriculture and forest industries and which land was considered and designated to provide long-term protection of important natural landscape features, or both. Based on this choice, the county shall apply the appropriate factors in either section (2) or (3) of this rule, or both. (2) Rural Reserve Factors: When identifying and selecting lands for designation as rural reserves intended to provide long-term protection to the agricultural industry or forest industry, or both, a county shall base its decision on consideration of whether the lands proposed for designation. (a) Are situated in an area that is otherwise potentially subject to urbanization during the applicable period described in OAR 660-027-0040(2) or (3) as indicated by proximity to a UGB or proximity to properties with fair market values that significantly exceed agricultural values for farmland, or forestry values for forest land; (b) Are capable of sustaining long-term agricultural operations for agricultural land, or are capable of sustaining long-term forestry operations for forest land; (c) Have suitable soils where needed to sustain long-term agricultural or forestry operations and, for agricultural land, have available water where needed to sustain long-term agricultural operations; and (d) Are suitable to sustain long-term agricultural or forestry operations, taking into account: (A) for farm land, the existence of a large block of agricultural or other resource land with a concentration or cluster of farm operations, or, for forest land, the existence of a large block of forested land with a concentration or cluster of managed woodlots; (B) The adjacent land use pattern, including its location in relation to adjacent non-farm uses or non-forest uses, and the existence of buffers between agricultural or forest operations and non-farm or non-forest uses; (C) The agricultural or forest land use pattern, including parcelization, tenure and ownership patterns; and (D) The sufficiency of agricultural or forestry infrastructure in the area, whichever is applicable. (3) Rural Reserve Factors: When identifying and selecting lands for designation as rural reserves intended to protect important natural landscape features, a county must consider those areas identified in Metro’s February 2007 “Natural Landscape Features Inventory” and other pertinent information, and shall base its decision on consideration of whether the lands proposed for designation: (a) Are situated in an area that is otherwise potentially subject to urbanization during the applicable period described OAR 660-027-0040(2) or (3); (b) Are subject to natural disasters or hazards, such as floodplains, steep slopes and areas subject to landslides; (c) Are important fish, plant or wildlife habitat; (d) Are necessary to protect water quality or water quantity, such as streams, wetlands and riparian areas; (e) Provide a sense of place for the region, such as buttes, bluffs, islands and extensive wetlands; (f) Can serve as a boundary or buffer, such as rivers, cliffs and floodplains, to reduce conflicts between urban uses and rural uses, or conflicts between urban uses and natural resource uses (g) Provide for separation between cities; and (h) Provide easy access to recreational opportunities in rural areas, such as rural trails and parks. (4) Notwithstanding requirements for applying factors in OAR 660-027-0040(9) and section (2) of this rule, a county may deem that Foundation Agricultural Lands or Important Agricultural Lands within three miles of a UGB qualify for designation as rural reserves under section (2) without further explanation under OAR 660-027-0040(10).