Oregon's Measure 37 is a ballot initiative that was approved by voters in 2004. It allows property owners to seek compensation from the government if they feel that the uses and value of their property have been reduced by land use restrictions that were imposed after they became the land owner. If compensation cannot be made, then the government must waive the land use restrictions. As of March 2007, more than 7500 claims had been made across the state (source: Portland State University). Many of these claims propose new housing developments that would require drilling new wells or developing other water supplies.
Todd Jarvis, IWW Associate Director, has given several presentations about Oregon's Measure 37 and the state's groundwater resources. Below are links to those presentations and related news stories:
Oregon’s Measure 37 & Communities of Dueling Experts - Presentation by Todd Jarvis, June 2007. M37_June2007.pdf (1.4 Mb)
Article in Capital Press, 5/21/07 - Forum raises water questions - Residents concerned over Measure 37 attend meeting - McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Although Measure 37, the property rights protection measure, passed with more than 61 percent of the vote in 2004, some landowners fear more homes on rural land will stretch local water supplies. But Todd Jarvis, OSU water resources researcher; Mike McCord, state Water Resources Department watermaster; Jim Johnson, land use and water planning coordinator with the state Department of Agriculture; and OWRD deputy director Tom Paul could only provide partial answers. Read more...
Impacts of Measure 37 (Mary's River Watershed Council Newsletter, March 2007) - Notes from Todd's presentation at the March 7 Council meeting about Ballot Measure 37 and groundwater resources. Read more...
Groundwater Management, Measure 37 & Oregon’s Groundwater, Presentation to the Oregon House of Representatives Committee on Energy and the Environment, 3/12/07. HR_E&E_12March2007.pdf (324 k)
Article in the Statesman Journal, 1/15/07 - Marion County decision may set precedent for Measure 37 - Excerpt: "At issue is how development will affect groundwater - When Marion County planning commissioners decide whether to approve a subdivision on farmland in an area with limited groundwater, they will be treading in uncharted territory. The Measure 37 claim for 43 lots on 217 acres of exclusive farmland in the hills south of Salem is one of the first of its kind at the planning stage statewide. "I contacted every county planning agency and everybody is handling this differently," said Todd Jarvis of Oregon State University's Institute for Water and Watersheds about Measure 37. He said that Measure 37 "completely ignores" what land-use means with respect to water."
Measure 37 and Oregon’s Groundwater: A Paradigm Shift from Water Management to Water Planning? Presentation at the Biennial Regional Research and Extension Water Quality Conference, 11/2/05. The conference focused on Groundwater Under the Pacific Northwest and was held in Skamania, Washington. Measure37.pdf (679 k).
