Oregon Land Use & Zoning
Practice Questions & Answers (2026)

Explanation

Oregon's Statewide Planning Goal 14 (Urbanization) requires all Oregon cities to establish Urban Growth Boundaries (UGBs) to manage growth, direct urban development to appropriate areas, and protect farmland and forests outside urban areas.

Explanation

Statewide Planning Goal 3 (Agricultural Lands) protects Oregon's agricultural lands from conversion to urban or other non-farm uses. It requires counties to zone and protect high-value farm land and to apply minimum lot sizes that maintain farm viability.

Explanation

A variance is permission granted by a zoning board to deviate from strict zoning requirements due to a unique hardship related to the specific property. It is different from a conditional use permit (which allows specific uses under certain conditions) or rezoning (which changes the zoning classification itself).

Explanation

A non-conforming use is a use that legally existed prior to the enactment of the current zoning ordinance but does not conform to the new zoning regulations. Such uses are typically allowed to continue but cannot be expanded or intensified.

Explanation

The Oregon LCDC is the state body responsible for establishing and overseeing Oregon's statewide land use planning program, including adopting and updating the 19 Statewide Planning Goals that guide all local comprehensive plans.

Explanation

Oregon's Measure 37 required governments to compensate property owners when land use regulations reduced property value, or waive those regulations. Measure 49 modified Measure 37, limiting the scope of claims and balancing property rights with land use planning goals.

Explanation

Portland Metro's Urban Growth Boundary limits urban development to areas inside the boundary, protecting farms and forests on the outside from sprawl while directing growth to areas with existing urban infrastructure such as roads, water, and sewer.

Explanation

Oregon Statewide Planning Goal 18 specifically addresses beaches and dunes along Oregon's coast, prohibiting development that would damage or destroy these areas. Separate goals also address estuarine resources (Goal 16) and coastal shorelands (Goal 17).

Explanation

Oregon's Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zone is the state's primary tool for protecting high-value agricultural land from conversion to non-farm uses. EFU zones have strict land use restrictions and minimum lot sizes to maintain farm viability.

Explanation

A conditional use permit allows a use that is not permitted outright in a zone but may be appropriate under certain circumstances, subject to conditions that minimize adverse impacts. For example, a church in a residential zone or a small business in a rural zone.