STATEWIDE
A blizzard of Measure
37 claims fell across the state as 2006 drew to a close
with businesses and individuals scrambling to meet a December
deadline. More than 3,000 new claims were filed, nearly
doubling the total number of filings since Measure 37, which
exempts property owners from land-use rules adopted after they
purchased their land, was enacted two years ago.
“We’re trying to get caught up,” says Sheila
Martin, director of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan
Studies at Portland State University, who is managing a
database of claims. Martin says the last-minute filings
weren’t surprising, especially since many of the timber
companies that supported Measure 37 hadn’t yet filed
their claims. Eleventh-hour claims came in from, among others,
Stimson Lumber company, which owns 150,000 acres in northwest
Oregon, and the Plum Creek Timber Co., which filed the
state’s largest claim affecting two coastal counties.
Measure 37 opponents 1000 Friends of Oregon is pressuring the
Legislature to take a hard look at the ballot measure when
lawmakers convene this month.
