Or. Admin. Code § 660-033-0100 - Minimum Parcel Size Requirements
(1) Counties shall establish minimum sizes
for new parcels for land zoned for exclusive farm use. For land not designated
rangeland, the minimum parcel size shall be at least 80 acres. For land
designated rangeland, the minimum parcel size shall be at least 160
acres.
(2) A county may adopt a
minimum parcel size lower than that described in section (1) of this rule by
demonstrating to the Commission that it can do so while continuing to meet the
requirements of ORS 215.243 and that parcel sizes
below the 80 or 160 acre minimum sizes are appropriate to maintain the existing
commercial agricultural enterprise within an area. This standard is intended to
prevent division of farmland into parcels that are too small to contribute to
commercial agriculture in an area. This standard does not require that every
new parcel created be as large as existing farms or ranches in an area. The
minimum parcel size may allow creation of parcels smaller than the size of
existing farms or ranches. However, the minimum parcel size shall be large
enough to keep commercial farms and ranches in the area successful and not
contribute to their decline. Lots or parcels used, or to be used, for training
or stabling facilities shall not be considered appropriate to maintain the
existing commercial agricultural enterprise in any area where other types of
agriculture occur.
(a) To determine a minimum
parcel size under this section, the county shall complete the following steps:
(A) Identify different agricultural areas
within the county, if any;
(B)
Determine the nature of the commercial agricultural enterprise in the county,
or within areas of the county;
(C)
Identify the type(s) and size(s) of farms or ranches that comprise this
commercial agricultural enterprise; and
(D) Determine the minimum size for new
parcels that will maintain this commercial agricultural enterprise.
(b) To determine whether there are
distinct agricultural areas in a county, the county should consider soils,
topography and land forms, land use patterns, farm sizes, ranch sizes and field
sizes, acreage devoted to principal crops, and grazing areas and accepted
farming practices for the principal crops and types of livestock.
(c) To determine the nature of the existing
commercial agricultural enterprise within an area, a county shall identify the
following characteristics of farms and ranches in the area: Type and size of
farms and ranches, size of fields or other parts, acreage devoted to principal
crops, the relative contribution of the different types and sizes of farms and
ranches to the county's gross farm sales, and their contribution to local
processors and established farm markets. The following sources may assist in a
county's analysis: The most recent Census of Agriculture and special
tabulations from the census developed by Oregon State University, the Oregon
Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Agriculture's
Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (AACS), Soil and Water
Conservation Districts, the Oregon State University Extension Service and the
county assessor's office.
(d) To
determine the minimum parcel size, a county shall evaluate available data and
choose a size that maintains the existing commercial agricultural enterprise
within the county or within each area of the county. In areas where the size of
commercial farms and ranches is mixed, and the size of parcels needed to
maintain those commercial farms and ranches varies, the county shall not choose
a minimum parcel size that allows larger farms, lots or parcels to be divided
to the size of the smallest farms, lots or parcels in the area. The activities
of the larger as well as smaller holdings must be maintained.
(3) A minimum size for new parcels
for farm use does not mean that dwellings may be approved automatically on
parcels that satisfy the minimum parcel size for the area. New dwellings in
conjunction with farm use shall satisfy the criteria for such dwellings set
forth in OAR 660-033-0130(1).
(4) A minimum size for new parcels may be
appropriate to maintain the existing agricultural enterprise in the area, but
it may not be adequate to protect wildlife habitat pursuant to Goal 5. When
farmland is located in areas of wildlife habitat, the provisions of Goal 5
continue to apply.
(5) A county may
choose to establish a different minimum parcel size for distinct commercial
agricultural areas of the county. The appropriate minimum lot or parcel size
for each area shall reflect the type of commercial agriculture in the area,
consistent with section (2) of this rule.
(6) Counties may allow the creation of new
parcels for nonfarm uses only as authorized by ORS
215.263. Such new parcels shall
be the minimum size needed to accommodate the use in a manner consistent with
other provisions of law except as required for the nonfarm dwellings authorized
by section (7) of this rule. Land that is divided under this section pursuant
to ORS 215.213(1)(c)
or 215.283(1)(c)
may not later be rezoned by the county for retail, commercial, industrial or
other nonresource use, except as provided under the statewide land use planning
goals or under ORS 197.732.
(7)
(a)
Counties may allow the creation of new lots or parcels for dwellings not in
conjunction with farm use pursuant to ORS
215.263(4) or
(5), whichever is applicable.
(b) In the Willamette Valley, a new lot or
parcel may be allowed if the originating lot or parcel is equal to or larger
than the applicable minimum lot or parcel size, and:
(A) Is not stocked to the requirements under
ORS 527.610 to
527.770;
(B) Is composed of at least 95 percent Class
VI through VIII soils; and
(C) Is
composed of at least 95 percent soils not capable of producing 50 cubic feet
per acre per year of wood fiber; and
(D) The new lot or parcel will not be smaller
than 20 acres.
(c) No
new lot or parcel may be created for this purpose until the county finds that
the dwelling to be sited on the new lot or parcel has been approved under the
requirements for dwellings not in conjunction with farm use in ORS
215.284(3) or
(4),
215.236 and OAR
660-033-0130(4).
(8) The county governing body or
its designate may not approve a land division or property line adjustment of a
lot or parcel that separates a temporary hardship dwelling, relative farm help
dwelling, home occupation or processing facility from the parcel on which the
primary residential or other primary use exists.
(9) The county governing body or its
designate may not approve a land division of a lot or parcel created before
January 1, 1993, on which a nonfarm dwelling was approved pursuant to ORS
215.284(1).
(10) A division of a lawfully established
unit of land may occur along an urban growth boundary where the parcel
remaining outside the urban growth boundary is zoned for agricultural uses and
is smaller than the minimum parcel size, provided that:
(a) If the parcel contains a dwelling, the
parcel must be large enough to support continued residential use.
(b) If the parcel does not contain a
dwelling, it:
(A) Is not eligible for siting a
dwelling, except as may be authorized under ORS
195.120;
(B) May not be considered in approving or
denying an application for any other dwelling; and
(C) May not be considered in approving a
redesignation or rezoning of agricultural lands, except to allow a public park,
open space or other natural resource use.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 197.040, ORS 197.230 & ORS 197.245
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 197.015, ORS 197.040, ORS 197.230, ORS 197.245, ORS 215.203, ORS 215.243, ORS 215.283, ORS 215.700 - 215.710 & ORS 215.780
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.