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Gorge committee agrees to study agricultural income test, requests data; no vote taken
Summary
At a meeting of the Columbia River Gorge Commission’s Economic Vitality Committee, commissioners agreed to add a deeper review of the agricultural income test and related profitability policy to the work plan, ask staff for baseline data, and circulate a 2023 staff report explaining the test’s $80,000 threshold. No formal votes were held.
The Columbia River Gorge Commission’s Economic Vitality Committee discussed whether to revisit the management-plan rules that require an agricultural income test for large-scale agricultural land and agreed to place a deeper review on a future work plan, asking staff to provide baseline data and to circulate a 2023 staff report explaining how the threshold was calculated.
The committee’s Executive Director summarized the test’s origin and recent update, saying, “The ag income test is something that was part of, the original, National Scenic Area Act management plan,” and that the threshold was adjusted from $40,000 in 1991 to $80,000 in 2020 using an inflation calculator. Commissioners noted the test measures gross income rather than net profit.
Why it matters: the test helps determine when a house can be built on large-scale agricultural land by showing the land is being used for agriculture rather than as a residential estate. Critics at the meeting said the threshold is too high for many small or new producers in the Gorge, while others urged using objective standards to avoid unenforceable ‘‘promise to farm’’ rules.
Commissioner Brenda Bissell, who joined the meeting late and raised access issues with the meeting link, urged the committee not to conflate speculation with data and argued the ag-income test “is very much an agricultural issue,” saying the measure was designed “to make sure people were actually farmers.” Commissioner (Robert) Liberty said the statutory language on the “purpose of obtaining a profit in money” traces to Oregon law and urged staff to present clear data, noting county and region-specific patterns in gross sales and parcel sizes.
The committee discussed related issues: clarifying the management-plan language around profitability and gross-sales tests for farm structures, the distinction between minimum parcel size and a farm enterprise, and how land designated as agricultural can be handled when structures are abandoned or houses are removed. Commissioner Liberty also proposed studying loan programs and workforce training as ways to support agricultural households in the Gorge; the committee agreed to add that item to the work plan as well.
No formal motion or vote was taken during the hourlong meeting. The chair and commissioners directed staff to circulate the 2023 staff report that documented the income-threshold calculation (the Executive Director said the commission used the consumer price index to update $40,000 in 1991 to $80,000 in 2020) and to prepare baseline data on how many houses and farms exist in agricultural districts. Commissioner Brenda Bissell agreed to prepare an introductory briefing for a future meeting.
The committee said it will resume the discussion at the next scheduled meeting after participants have had time to review the circulated materials.
Next steps: staff will distribute the 2023 report and background materials; the committee will schedule a longer discussion and a structured briefing to examine alternatives to the current ag-income test and related profitability standards.
