Oregon lawmakers have passed a controversial bill that allows “farm stores” of up to 10,000 square feet on land zoned exclusive farm use.
House Bill 4153 also allows temporary structures or mobile vending units in conjunction with agri-tourism. And it bans counties from applying siting standards in a way that prohibits farm stores.
“The current system just isn’t working. Farms today can only use farmstand permits. There’s no gathering in barns or tents,” said Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, who carried the bill in the Senate. “If you have a rainstorm, you’re stuck. It really fouls things up.”
Oregon’s 50-year-old land use law is meant to discourage urban sprawl and protect the state’s rich soils for farming. It prevents most non-farm uses of land zoned exclusive farm use, or EFU.
The law currently allows “farm stands” directly selling farm products without a permit. It also allows retail sales unrelated to the farm operation, as well as promotional events, with a permit.
Currently, nonfarm retail sales and events cannot comprise more than 25% of the farm stand’s annual sales.
HB 4153 eliminates the 25% limit. Instead, it requires that a certain amount of farm property be in farm use when the permit is granted, and specifies that no more than 25% of the farm store’s internal floor area be devoted to nonfarm retail sales.
The bill’s opponents said the legislation will open up farmland to unfettered development.
“While I support efforts to improve clarity, myself and, actually, hundreds of Oregon farmers are worried that certain large corporate entities took advantage of the moment to push well beyond what most of us would consider common sense activities that should be allowed on our precious and critical farms,” said Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie.
The bill does not strike the desired balance between allowing farmers to increase their incomes and protecting farmland, said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland.
“It’s a big lurch of the pendulum that puts no value on protecting farmland for the next generations,” he said.
Golden chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife. The bill did not get a hearing in a Senate committee.
“From our Central Oregon perspective, we are gravely concerned that this short-sighted bill will hasten the gentrification of farm land and displace more of Oregon’s family farmers,” said Rory Isbell, rural lands program director at Central Oregon LandWatch.
Supporters, including the Oregon Farm Bureau, argued that struggling farmers need to diversify to make ends meet.
“This bill does not blow up our land use system,” said Sen. Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton. “In fact, it reinforces it.”
The bill isn’t perfect, Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, said during a House floor debate on the bill.
But failing to pass it almost guarantees that a ballot measure, with less restrictive rules, will be put forth, he said.
“I think we’re going to have to let it roll for a while and see whether the fears that some folks are expressing come true,” Helm said. “And if they do we’re going to have to respond. That’s the way legislation works.”
Dozens of people spoke to lawmakers about the bill during hearings Feb. 4 and Feb. 9, and nearly 1,600 people submitted written testimony.
The bill passed the Senate 21-8 on March 6. It passed the House 40-14 on March 4. It now goes to Gov. Tina Kotek for her signature.