Eugene weekly., April 12, 2018, Page 13, Image 13

lots, but says “it just comes out in doing the work.”
When Nickell or another surveyor or land-use attorney
find old legal lots, they fill out an application form
with Lane County Land Management to have the lots
recognized as separate legal lots. Neighbors are notified of
these applications, but there is no public comment process
and often little understanding of what the designation of
new legal lots means.
Once lots are recognized by the county as separate
entities, they are not guaranteed development rights, but
they are subject to different land-use standards that can
pave the way for new development with the potential for
changing forested lots into McMansions.
Residents often
don’t understand the
implications of legal
lot verifications and
end up shocked by
developments down
the line.
From Legal Lot to Development
Lands that are zoned as forestland have restrictions on
residential development that are meant to maintain forests
and promote timber industry uses.
In “impacted forest lands” or F-2 zones, newly created
lots or parcels cannot be smaller than 80 acres, and each
parcel can have only one residential dwelling. Limiting
lot sizes to 80 acres greatly reduces the development
potential of properties, which is why rediscovering lots
from the past can be a major boon for developers who want
to build more houses.
The restrictions that apply to larger lots do not apply in
the same way to smaller lots created through the historical
lot verification process. If a landowner has historical lots
approved on their property, each lot can be smaller than 80
acres and eligible for a new dwelling.
At the development by the McDougals above LCC, one
of the historical lots is from the turn of the 20th century.
The lot will come back to life and undermine state zoning
laws aimed at preserving forestland and limiting sprawl.
Developers can create mini-subdivisions on lands
that are supposed to be kept as forests, because once
landowners have established multiple legal lots on a larger
swath within their ownership, they can move the lots into a
more development friendly configuration.
— LAURI SEGEL-VACCHER
OF LANDWATCH LANE COUNTY
Forest Template Dwellings
In lands zoned for forest use, dwellings can be approved
under certain restrictions described by state law. Within
the guidelines of state law, counties have the right to
make more restrictive requirements but cannot be more
lenient than state law, according to Gordon Howard, the
community services manager for the Oregon Department
of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD).
One area that is an issue for the DLCD in terms of
maintaining forestlands for their intended use is template
dwellings.
Template dwellings are one of the types of residential
development that are allowed in forest zones. The law is
supposed to limit template dwellings to one house for every
80 acres of zoned forestland, but small lots created through
the lot verification process are each eligible for forest
dwellings under Lane County’s development guidelines.
Oregon’s state land-use goals set expectations for how
land should be managed to satisfy different values, from
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