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DLCD to launch rulemaking on farm-stand, agritourism clarifications after committee work group
Summary
Following a committee work group, the Department of Land Conservation and Development will begin a rulemaking to clarify farm-stand and agritourism rules on exclusive farm use land; five policy topics were identified for the rulemaking and a public process is scheduled through fall.
The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) will open a rulemaking process to clarify farm-stand and agritourism rules on exclusive farm-use (EFU) lands after a committee-convened work group identified five priority topics, DLCD told the House Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water Committee on March 17.
DLCD legislative and policy analyst Alyssa Benigni outlined the planned timeline: Director Brenda Bateman will present a proposal to the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) at its March 20 meeting to initiate rulemaking. DLCD anticipates advisory committee meetings in May, June and July, a tentative public hearing in late September, and LCDC deliberation and decision in October. DLCD cautioned that some questions may require statutory changes rather than rule updates and said it will identify such items in its report to the co-chairs.
Five topic areas for the rulemaking, identified in the committee’s work group and described by participants, are: (1) the primary-use test (percentage-of-sales vs. income test), (2) fee-based promotional and educational activities, (3) activities inside versus outside farm-stand structures, (4) prepared foods and value-added products tied directly to farm production, and (5) traffic and cumulative impacts on surrounding farms. Stakeholder representatives — including small and midsize diversified farmers (Friends of Family Farmers), the Oregon Property Owners Association, 1,000 Friends of Oregon, and farm-stand operators — told the committee they seek clarity and uniform application of rules across counties while preserving farm-production centric limits.
Why it matters: Work-group participants framed the problem as one of scope and cumulative impacts: distinguishing agritourism that supports farm production from tourism-driven uses that can undermine agricultural land and neighboring farmers. Participants emphasized building objective standards where possible, protecting agricultural production as the primary use, and accommodating educational activities and promotional events without turning EFU lands into tourism enterprises. DLCD will identify statutory items that cannot be resolved by rule and return with recommendations following the rulemaking.
