Oregon City planning commission receives Land Use 101 briefing on ex‑parte rules, 120‑day deadlines

Assistant City Attorney Missy Ryan led a Land Use 101 work session for the Oregon City Planning Commission, reviewing the legal framework that governs zoning and the procedural rules commissioners must follow in quasi‑judicial decisions.

Ryan opened by tracing the authority to zone to the states and constitutional limits, saying the Tenth Amendment and the state's police power underpin local zoning while the Fifth and First Amendments impose takings and speech limits respectively. She reviewed the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) and the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) as the state agencies that implement the statewide planning goals, and cited Senate Bill 100 (1973) as the statute that required comprehensive plans and urban growth boundaries.

The training focused on the two main decision tracks commissioners encounter: legislative long‑range planning (code or plan amendments) and quasi‑judicial decisions tied to a particular property. On quasi‑judicial matters Ryan stressed the importance of procedural safeguards: "By state law, we have to give…