By Madilynne Clark
The University of Oregon’s Institute for Policy Research and Engagement is home to Inspire Oregon, which organizes summits to discuss and develop policies for Oregon’s challenges. In late October, Inspire Oregon hosted more than 50 people for their Rural Housing Policy Incubator which included policymakers, local administrators, and industry leaders in drafting recommendations for the 2026 Oregon Legislative Session.
Most discussions were variations on a theme: difficulty navigating state regulations so that we can predict policy outcomes and increase local control in addressing Oregon’s housing emergency. Oregon’s 52-year-old land use planning program (SB 100, 1973), also called the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Act, restricts communities from meeting the housing and economic needs of growing populations. This long history of favoring farm and forest land preservation over other uses stifles Oregon’s rural communities and leaves local citizens without a voice in their own backyard.
Cascade Policy Institute participated in Inspire Oregon’s breakout session titled, “Streamlining Development Process.” The group discussed improving the process for “use by right” in housing development, which refers to a property owner’s use of property in manners consistent with its permissible zoning.
Use By Right established “clear and objective” standards in 2019 and was further clarified in 2025 for local governments to encourage more types of residential development projects. Under this policy, if land was already zoned for single-family dwellings, then other types of residential structures were also permitted without rezoning.
However, local opponents have stunted the implementation of “use by right” challenging projects through the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). Special interest groups are able to exploit the process and block the construction of homes in pursuit of their own priorities, such as discouraging density. They delay projects by presenting extensive, subjective analyses to LUBA, and devise work arounds to the “clear and objective” standards, thereby convoluting attempts at streamlining housing and adding costs and delays to developers.
In 2025, the legislature passed clarifications to “use by right,” limiting the notification and appeals process for development procedures. Opponents of development are limited in their ability to sue over already permitted development. Advocates for rural housing at Inspire Oregon proposed adding to the legislation with a statute that defines “use by right” for any housing type, in communities under 10,000 people, streamlining the process for communities with limited staff and planning expertise. Much of 2025’s “Middle Housing Bill” (HB 2138) still remains to be adopted until 2028, and it is still unclear whether additional statute changes are necessary.
What is clear, moving forward, is that Oregon should adopt policies favoring residential development while respecting property rights. Oregon’s efforts should decrease risk and regulatory cost for developers, and increase local flexibility, simplifying codes so rural communities can interpret and solve their local housing crises effectively.
Madilynne Clark is a Policy Analyst at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization. She holds a master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics and writes on agriculture, natural resources, farming, and land use issues from Eastern Oregon.
