County planners to seek code updates aligning farm and forest rules with recent LCDC administrative changes

Deschutes County planning staff told the board Monday they will ask the Board of County Commissioners to adopt housekeeping updates to county farm- and forest-related code to conform to recent rule changes completed by the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). Nicole Mardell, senior planner, said the amendments primarily codify state case-law interpretations and administrative-rule changes that took effect Jan. 1 and that county staff have been applying where conflicts arose.

Why it matters: Mardell said the package incorporates clarified approaches to the farm impacts test for conditional uses in the Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zone, a four-level intensity framework for agritourism and related commercial events, a clarified definition of "private park" to limit overly intensive uses, and tighter guidance on how to evaluate income for farm buildings and farm stands. The changes are intended to give consistent direction across jurisdictions and to reflect recent court decisions and administrative rulings.

Key changes and exclusions: Staff highlighted the updated farm impacts test (to determine whether a use would significantly change farm or forest practices), the agritourism intensity framework and the clarified private-park definition. Mardell said the package also tightens how home occupations in EFU are evaluated by confirming they must be accessory to the residential use and not exceed the intensity of other uses allowed in the zone. Two items from the state's package — a narrow farm-dwelling change related to cranberry operations and a childcare-related set of discretionary criteria — were omitted from the county package; staff said childcare changes are better addressed in a larger, planned childcare amendment project.

Process and timing: The planning commission held a hearing on June 26 and recommended unanimous approval; no public testimony or agency comments were received on that date. Staff provided a draft ordinance in the board packet and recommended standard adoption (90 days) rather than emergency adoption. Mardell said this is the first of multiple LCDC rulemaking packages and that where practical the county will reference state administrative text rather than copying it verbatim, allowing future state changes to be reflected automatically where the ordinance references the rule.

Board questions: Commissioners asked whether farm-stand issues were included; staff said farm-stand details were being handled separately at the state level and that the governor had paused that package. Commissioners also asked about winery traffic-control requirements and other site-specific provisions; staff noted some provisions reflected urban or city-specific contexts (for example, a city of Bend requirement for traffic control at winery events) and said county application of specific numeric standards would depend on local circumstances.

Next steps: Staff will present the ordinance at the board's Wednesday hearing with a recommendation for standard adoption. Mardell said staff will follow the state's multi-package schedule and bring forward future rule-conforming amendments as they are finalized by LCDC.