Update: Contentious re-zone of 710 of farmland would harm water and wildlife
View of the northeastern edge of the property in question, overlooking neighboring farm and rangeland: Central Oregon LandWatch
Public Hearing over a Proposed Agricultural Land Rezone
On Wednesday, August 17, the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held a public hearing over a proposal to remove agricultural land protections on 710 acres near Terrebonne, to rezone the property for rural residential development.
LandWatch testified alongside neighbors, farmers, and ranchers in opposition to the proposal; we took a stand alongside concerned residents to protect this area for farm use.
Billy and Elizabeth Buchanan are neighbors of the property. They run a successful ranch directly bordering the 710 acres to the southeast. During the hearing, Elizabeth Buchanan testified that they would be interested in expanding their ranch onto the property.
View of the southeastern edge of the property overlooking neighboring farm and rangeland: Central Oregon LandWatch
“We need this ground. Like, we’ll take it. We’ll buy it, we’ll lease it. We are obviously not going to buy it at development pricing, but that is the reason for the Oregon zoning laws; the reason for these laws are to protect ranchers…This could make or break our ranching career.”
Elizabeth Buchanan continued, “[I]t would take us ten minutes to move our cows instead of having to put them in a trailer and haul them somewhere. We lose cattle when we don’t have eyes on them.” She noted that they needed the space the land provides, not necessarily a fertile grazing area. “We have hay ground. We don’t need all this grass. We need the space.”
Oregon’s land use laws protect agricultural land for farm use. By strictly limiting housing on farmland, the laws are intended to keep prices low enough for farmers to buy land or expand their operations.
Abby Kellner-Rode, with Boundless Farmstead in Deschutes County, expressed her strong opposition to the development.
“Speculation in farm and ranch land has artificially increased the price of farmland so much so that farmers and ranchers are getting priced out of the ability to buy land,” she testified.
In addition to concerns over agricultural land protections, groundwater use was another resonating issue. If the application to rezone the land were approved, an additional seventy-one dwellings with seventy-one new wells could be developed on the acreage. Many residents expressed concern over the impact those new wells would have on the local aquifer, noting that wells in the vicinity are already going dry. For example, Deschutes County resident Diane Lozito testified that a 370-feet well down the road from the property had gone dry the day before the hearing.
According to a recent article from Oregon Public Broadcasting, at least sixty Deschutes County residents had to deepen their wells in 2021 alone. The addition of seventy-one wells with unmitigated water will impact the aquifer and harm existing residents in the area.
Statewide agencies also note the additional strain on the aquifer. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) submitted a joint, three-agency letter opposing the development, in which they noted the risks to fish and wildlife posed by the development.
According to the letter, “The state agencies are concerned with ongoing impacts to surface water and groundwater in the Deschutes basin. We have several primary concerns regarding potential impairment to fish and wildlife habitat from a new water use, the first being potential impact to surface flows necessary for fish and wildlife resources in the Deschutes River system (including a reduction in surface water quantity from groundwater pumping), and the second being the potential for an increase in water temperature as a result of flow reductions or impairment to cold water derived from seeps and springs. Seeps and springs provide unique habitat for a number of plant and animal species, including fish. Seep and spring flows, especially in the summer and fall, are typically cooler than the water flowing in the main stream, providing a natural relative constancy of water temperature. This cooler water provides thermal refuge for salmonids which thrive in cooler water.”
Aerial view of the 710-acre area, from the Notice of Appeal
Adding to concerns over water use and the negative impact on wildlife, the application could also pose a threat to habitat for local wildlife by fragmenting and developing currently intact habitat areas. Over a year ago, ODFW provided Deschutes County with new scientific data showing the location of essential habitat for mule deer, elk, and golden eagles. The data show that these 710 acres proposed for development are biological mule deer and elk habitat.
The current county code specifies that dwelling densities in mule deer habitat allow for one dwelling per 40 acres. In elk habitat, the density is one dwelling per 160 acres (DCC 18.88.050. Dimensional Standards in the Wildlife Area Management Zone). When Deschutes County adopts the scientific evidence of ODFW and places its wildlife protection overlay zone on this area, dwelling density should protect elk and mule deer essential habitat.
Under ODFW’s current scientific evidence of essential mule deer and elk habitat and its effects on Deschutes County’s wildlife overlay zone, when adopted, Deschutes County law will allow a maximum number of 17 dwellings on these 710 acres to protect mule deer.
Unfortunately, Deschutes County has delayed adopting the wildlife overlay zone that would prevent an intensive rural residential development.
Instead, the developer is seeking approval of an application that goes against the best available scientific data while Deschutes County delays adopting a new wildlife overlay zone.
The Deschutes County Code prohibits rezoning property if it is not in the public interest. Based on concerns over loss of agricultural land, impacts to water, and implications for local fish and wildlife, LandWatch argues that this development is not in the public interest. If Deschutes County had updated its maps to reflect current scientific data, the rezoning would be denied under Deschutes County policy.
The Deschutes County Commissioners are expected to announce a decision on the application during their next meeting on September 28, 2022.
As a watchdog for Central Oregon, we will continue to defend against inappropriate development on rural lands, support agricultural economies, and protect open space, wildlife, and water. LandWatch will continue to oppose this application through the appeals process.
McKayla Crump
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