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Douglas County adopts RT-20 Rural Transitional zone after LUBA remand, establishing 20‑acre open‑space standard
Summary
The Board’s packet includes and presents for adoption amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Land Use & Development Ordinance to add an RT-20 Rural Transitional 20‑acre non‑resource zone; the draft ordinance and staff report require a quasi‑judicial, site‑specific exceptions process and Goal 5 (big‑game habitat) review before applying the zone to any parcel.
The Douglas County meeting packet for March 18, 2025, contains draft ordinance language and supporting findings to add a new (RT-20) Rural Transitional — 20 Acre zone to the County’s Land Use & Development Ordinance (LUDO) and related Comprehensive Plan text as a response to a Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) remand.
Planning staff describe the RT-20 classification as an open-space, non-resource designation intended to provide a case-by-case path for identifying non-resource lands where Statewide Planning Goals 3 and 4 (farm and forest lands) are shown not to apply or where an exception is taken. The packet cites the Southern Oregon Regional Pilot Program (SORPP) reports and multiple ORS/OAR authorities governing exceptions (including ORS 197.732 and OAR 660 Division 4) and explains that substantial evidence will be required in any quasi‑judicial plan amendment and zone-change application to demonstrate eligibility.
The draft LUDO Article 7A (RT-20) sets the following notable features:
- Minimum parcel size: 20 acres. - Permitted uses: one single-family dwelling outright, accessory buildings, certain farm and forest uses, limited home occupation, nurseries, wineries under statutory vineyard provisions, and small public/semi‑public facilities. - Siting and safety standards: fuel-free primary and secondary building setbacks (30 ft and 100 ft, respectively), on‑site water supply and minimum fire‑protection water/pressure requirements, road‑access standards (12 ft travel surface, grade limits, turnaround design), and wildfire‑resilience construction standards. - Resource protections: RT-20 properties must comply with Goal 5 overlay standards in Article 32 (for example peripheral big-game habitat dwelling-density triggers) and are to be disqualified from farm/forest special assessment upon approval of the RT-20 zone.
Staff materials repeatedly emphasize that RT-20 is not a rural residential zone and that overlay review — particularly for Big Game Habitat and other Goal 5 resources — will apply at the time a site-specific application is filed. The packet includes example decisions (Reynolds, Lounsbury, Dias Family Trust) to illustrate how dwelling-density calculations and ODFW notifications have been applied in prior peripheral habitat reviews.
Planning Director Joshua Shaklee and Special Projects Administrator Keith L. Cubic recommended adoption of the amendments to provide a consistent regulatory framework for future quasi‑judicial non‑resource applications while preserving Goal 5 protections and requiring substantial evidence for each site.
The draft ordinance language included in the packet states the amendments "are adopted" and "shall become effective immediately;" the draft includes signature lines for Chair Tom Kress and Commissioners Chris Boice and Tim Freeman and is dated March 18, 2026 within the ordinance draft. The transcript packet does not include a verbatim roll-call vote or motion text in the excerpt provided; it does, however, place the ordinance adoption language and effective-date language in the record for Board action.
