The Short Version
A “Measure 49 property” is a parcel with a state-issued home site authorization that allows the owner to divide the land and/or build one or more new dwellings, even though the current zoning — usually farm or forest — would not allow it. These authorizations exist because of a decades-long tug-of-war over Oregon land-use law, and they can dramatically change what a rural parcel is worth.
Where These Rights Came From
Oregon adopted statewide land-use planning in the 1970s, and through the 1980s and early 1990s counties rezoned huge swaths of private land into exclusive farm and forest zones. Families who bought land expecting to subdivide it or add homes for their kids suddenly could not. Voters responded with Measure 37 in 2004, which let longtime owners file claims for the development rights they lost. Measure 49, passed in 2007, replaced that system: qualifying claimants received home site authorizations — typically one to three home sites, and in limited cases up to ten — issued by the state through a final order.
Why It Matters in the Veneta and Elmira Hills
Much of the timbered ground in the Coast Range foothills west of Veneta and Elmira is zoned F1 or F2 forest land, where new dwellings range from difficult to impossible. A Measure 49 authorization is often the only path to a new home site on that ground. When one of these parcels comes to market, it is a different asset than the neighboring forest parcel without one — and it should be priced, marketed, and vetted differently.
Do the Rights Transfer When the Property Sells?
Generally yes — and this is the key point for buyers. Once the state issued a final order under Measure 49, the home site authorization runs with the land and transfers to subsequent owners. But the details live in the final order itself: how many home sites, where they may be located, what conditions apply, and whether any deadlines or partition requirements have already been satisfied. Never rely on a listing description or a seller’s memory. Get the DLCD final order and read it.
How to Verify a Measure 49 Claim
Start with three documents: the DLCD (Department of Land Conservation and Development) final order for the claim, the county planning file for the parcel, and the title report. Confirm the final order matches the tax lot being sold, that the authorized home sites have not already been used by a prior partition, and that county approvals — septic site evaluation, access, fire siting standards — are still achievable. An authorization to build is not the same as a buildable site; you still need water, septic, and access to pencil.
What Sellers Should Know
If your family filed a Measure 37 or Measure 49 claim on your property years ago, that paperwork may be the most valuable thing in your filing cabinet. I have seen authorizations add six figures to a parcel’s value when documented and marketed properly — and I have seen them missed entirely because the listing agent did not know what they were looking at. Before you list forest or farm acreage anywhere in west Lane County, have the land-use history pulled.
What I Tell My Clients
Measure 49 parcels are where my lending background earns its keep. These transactions involve state final orders, county planning files, title exceptions, and often specialized financing for bare land. It is all manageable — but only if it is verified up front, during due diligence, not discovered at the closing table.
