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Land Use

Land Use

The Oregon land use planning program is widely recognized for its pioneering efforts to preserve the principle of local responsibility for land use decisions while defining a broader public interest at the state level.

Information to support land use planners, including: administrative boundaries, critical habitat, hydrologic soil group, wetlands, protected areas, and more.
Simple place-based mapping and charting of habitat, floodplains, people, land use, and more.
Video series providing background and training about land use planning in Oregon. Funded by the Oregon Coastal Management Program through a Section 306 NOAA Grant.

Articles & Stories

The Oregon Story of Land Use. Who owns the land? Who controls it? These two...
Oregon was changing rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s. Conflicts were heating up over zoning,...
Measure 49, passed with 62% of the statewide vote in November 2007, is the latest adjustment to...

Maps and Tools

The Mid-Coast Water Report aggregates water data for a selected area of interest. The report... more

LOCAL PLANNING RESOURCES

Select from the menu below to view acknowledged planning documents from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.
 
Search results from Scholars Bank Local & Regional Documents Archive (University of Oregon)

About This Topic

Over 40 years ago, Oregon’s land use planning program was established to preserve farm and forest lands, constrain urban sprawl, and preserve the coastline. Since inception, thousands of plans, guidance, studies and maps were developed to achieve the 19 land use planning goals. Many of these resources are now accessible in this collection, managed by the Department of Land Conservation and Development, which administers the program on behalf of all Oregonians.
 
Acknowledgments

Development of the site formerly known as the Oregon "Land Use Explorer" has been a collaboration among:

OSU Libraries and Press: OSU Libraries and Press engages with the OSU community and the people of Oregon in their pursuit of knowledge. The OSULP partnership with the Institute for Natural Resources supports delivery of information and services related to the protection and management of Oregon's vitally important natural resources through the Oregon Explorer natural resources digital library.

Institute for Natural Resources: The Institute for Natural Resources provides Oregonians with ready access to current, relevant science-based information, methods, and tools for better understanding natural resource management challenges and developing solutions. INR co-manages the Oregon Explorer with OSULP.

Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development: The Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation and Development supports the creation and implementation of comprehensive plans that reflect and balance the statewide planning goals, the vision of citizens, and the interests of local, state, federal and tribal governments.
 
Portland State University Institute for Portland Metropolitan Studies: The Institute was created to better connect PSU to issues of concern to communities in the six-county Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Area, and to bring new attention to key issues of metropolitan significance.
 
Funding for Phase 1 of the Land Use Explorer development was provided by Oregon Community Foundation and the Gray Family Fund Land Use Planning Project, and funding for Phase 2 was provided by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.  In-kind support provided by OSU Libraries and Press and the Institute for Natural Resources.