We vote November 6th. Measure 49 has people confused. Hopefully these Measure 37 stories and maps will help inform you about what exactly is going on and why this is a big battle and why you should get involved.

In 2004 Ballot Measure 37 set the stage for poorly planned urban sprawl onto the farms and forest lands surrounding Portland, and throughout Oregon. What this means is that if all the farm owners wanted to sell their land to developers or strip miners, they can. The result is all of our farms would turn into mini Orange Counties and strip mines. It's already been happening.

Measure 37 claimants have filed more than 2,500 residential applications for Measure 37 waivers in the greater Portland area. All of these claims together add up to nearly 34,500 new residents in our "formerly known as" farm land.

Farmers, timber companies and developer landowners have filed more than 7,500 Measure 37 claims, requesting over $15 BILLION Dollars in compensation or the right to develop what ever they want in spite of current farm land and forest statutes and laws.

Sightline.com has the maps of the estimated number of new people and dwellings that would appear in areas that are currently protected as Exclusive Farm Use land and Forest land across Oregon. These maps illustrate the potential Measure 37 development and damage to Oregon's greenery in relation to current growth boundaries. What this means is Urban Sprawl.


Here are some stories of real people affected by the Measure 37 claims. Remember, 37 allows for urban sprawl onto sacred farm and forest land. Sprawl in the form of hundreds of suburbanites packed together like Orange County California. How do we know that?

1) Look at what the claims are for "MAXIMUM UTILIZATION" which means as many houses that they can pack into one spot to get as much money as they can out of the forest land.

2) Common sense. These people want to either develop their land, then sell it, or sell it to a developer. All sellers want the most that they can get from their goods or service, the most being the most houses that can be packed into 200 acres of high value farm and forest land.

Oregon's Property Wrongs
A very clear pdf put together by Sightline of Bad Neighbors in Oregon that "sound far fetched but are actually affecting real people, right now.

Mining in a National Monument
"East Lake...Newberry Crater has always been a peaceful place, with just a few campsites, plus the small summer-only East Lake resort that’s been around since 1915. East Lake is now the focal point of one of Oregon’s biggest Measure 37 claims. A private landowner, James Miller, who holds 157 forested acres inside the National Monument (which includes shoreline along the west side of East Lake) filed a $203 million claim for loss of use under the measure. Because the government couldn’t pay up, the landowner now has approval to build a pumice mine, a geothermal plant, and as many as 150 vacation homes on the property. Geologists hired by the landowner will soon begin looking at where to tap the geothermal energy. "

A Gravel Mine Moves in Next Door"...Susie Kunzman and her husband Wayne love their quiet rural life. They bought the property two years ago to grow their alpaca farm, now with 35 animals which by themselves have an estimated worth of $350,000. But all that could change if a proposed 80-acre gravel mine goes in just over the Kunzman’s fence line. Her neighbors, Charles and Wanda Daugherty, now hold an approved Measure 37 claim that allows the quarry and makes it easier to obtain permits. The county could not pay the Daughertys for loss of use, so under Measure 37 it was forced to approve their claim."

Suburbs in a Working Forest
"... As third- and fourth-generation Oregonians, Jim and Sandy LeTourneux love forests and wildlife. But don’t call them tree-huggers. They’re loggers.

The couple loves what some might see as a tough business: running a 460-acre timber farm in the forested Coast Range of rural Yamhill County.

In 1964, Jim’s father began planting trees; and in 1976, he passed the business down to Jim and Sandy. With their two sons grown and moved away, Jim is the entire labor force these days. He plants and fells the fir, alder, and maple and Sandy keeps the books. The two don’t take traditional vacations. Health insurance is on their dime. Retirement? Not an option, at least not anytime soon. ... But their livelihood, along with their stewardship, could slip away with a Measure 37 claim bordering their property on three sides. The LeTourneux tree farm is nearly surrounded by some 850 acres of forest owned by a Measure 37 claimant. The owner, a developer named Bob Hemstreet, filed a claim for $35 million for loss of use, and if the county doesn’t pay, he may be able to subdivide the property and build as many as 848 homes on 1-acre home sites... "

And it goes on and on and on. It's real simple. If you think it's ok for our farms to be turned into pumise mines and condos... then vote no on Measure 49.

If you think people's property rights are being taken away, even though they can still build up to 10 houses on prime farm land and sell their land for millions of dollars... then vote no on 49.

But... if you think that 37 was poorly written, allowing for unchecked development outside of the urban growth boundary, allowing undesirable growth in our farming communities and forest land... then you'll want to consider voting Yes on 49.

Your choice. Do your research. Google every name you read to get your own facts. Do your due diligence.

We're voting yes to save our farm lands, yes to save our watersheds, yes to save our forest land. We're voting yes on 49 in November.