Deschutes County staff seek code change to drop local 10% cap on lot-line adjustments, ask board to adopt by emergency

Deschutes County planning staff asked the Board of County Commissioners on Monday to adopt a code amendment that would remove a local 10% area-reduction limitation for property line adjustments and instead directly apply the state statute cited in the packet as "ORS 92 1 92." Nicole Mardell, senior planner for Deschutes County Community Development, told the board the change is intended to simplify review and resolve conflicts between county code and state law.

The proposal would amend the county's variance section (identified in the packet as 18 1 32) so that property line adjustments involving parcels below the minimum lot size are evaluated under ORS 92 1 92 and handled as staff decisions where the statute permits, rather than being subject to the county's separate 10% area-reduction rule and a discretionary variance process.

Why it matters: Mardell said the county's 10% cap can create unnecessary hurdles when state law allows corrections, such as fixing fence encroachments or surveying errors,…