Akiyama v. Tillamook County

No. 416 June 26, 2024 315

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE

STATE OF OREGON

Jennifer AKIYAMA;

David Allen; Kimberly D.M. Bergstrom;

Eric C.M. Bergstrom; Peter Birch; Kathy Hamel;

Mark Buxton; Robin Buxton; Nate Castillo;

Minerva Castillo; Doug Coates; Carl T. Coffman;

Paul S. Cosgrove; Emily Draper;

Christine Eisenschmidt; Robert Govender-Towle;

Justin Greene; Nicole Ralston; Colin Grey; Karen Jackson;

Brian Johnson; The Smith Johnson-Leupp LLC;

Justin Jones, Trustee; Carrie Koepke;

Cascadia Investment Properties, Inc.; Lana Kowalski;

Mike Kowalski; Ron Lockwood; Martha Lockwood;

Richard Lofton; Jeanine Lofton Hendrix; Andy Long;

Sandra Y. Manning, Trustee; Bonnie McDowell; Phil Zapf;

John P. McLoughlin; Katie McLoughlin;

Desiree McMenamin; Dustin McMenamin;

Maria M. Meyer; John Meyer; Skip Patten;

Brian Patterson; Barbara Patterson; Stephen Piucci;

Melissa Powers; Anthony Power; Holly Power;

Susan Schomburg; Michael Smith; Janell Weeks;

Heather L. Weigler; Jake Weigler; Kenneth G. Willett;

Kevin Wingert; Brenda Huffstuttler; Jordan Winters;

and Rachel Winters,

Petitioners,

v.

TILLAMOOK COUNTY,

Tom Prehoditch, Jerry Keene, Vickie Prehoditch, Jacki

Hinton, David Boone, Barbara Triplett, Amy Bell, Gary

Billingsley, Michael Woodin, Dave Benneth, Carol Hoke,

Laurie Kovack, Bruce Bishop, Mark L. Roberts,

Joanie Blum, Candice Miller, and Gregory Miller,

Respondents.

Land Use Board of Appeals

2023063;

A183660

Argued and submitted April 24, 2024.

316 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

Heather A. Brann argued the cause for petitioners. Also

on the brief was Heather A. Brann PC.

Daniel Kearns argued the cause for respondents. Also on

the brief was Reeve Kearns PC.

Before Joyce, Presiding Judge, Lagesen, Chief Judge, and

Jacquot, Judge.

LAGESEN, C. J.

Affirmed.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 317

LAGESEN, C. J.

Petitioners seek judicial review of a final order of

the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). In that order, LUBA

granted Tillamook County’s motion to dismiss for lack of

jurisdiction petitioners’ challenge to county Ordinance 84-2,

which regulates the use of private homes as short-term

rentals. LUBA concluded that the ordinance was not a land

use regulation and, consequently, was not within the stat-

utory scope of LUBA’s review. LUBA also concluded that it

did not have jurisdiction to review the ordinance under the

common-law “significant impact” test. Petitioners assign

error to each of LUBA’s determinations with respect to its

jurisdiction. We review to determine whether LUBA’s order

is unlawful in substance or procedure, ORS 197.850(9)(a),

and affirm.

I. LUBA’S JURISDICTION

At issue in this case is the scope of LUBA’s juris-

diction to review decisions of local governments. To provide

context for the parties’ dispute and our analysis, we supply

an overview of the law governing LUBA’s jurisdiction.

LUBA’s jurisdiction to review local government

actions derives from both statute and, perhaps surprisingly

for a legislatively created body, the common law. Under both

sources of law, the party seeking to invoke LUBA’s review

has the burden of proving that their challenge to govern-

ment action is within LUBA’s jurisdiction. Billington v. Polk

County, 299 Or 471, 475, 703 P2d 232 (1985).

A. Statutory Jurisdiction

By statute, LUBA has “exclusive jurisdiction to

review any ‘land use decision.’ ” ORS 197.825(1). A “land use

decision” includes a decision by a local government “that

concerns the adoption, amendment, or application of the

[statewide planning] goals, a provision of the county’s com-

prehensive plan, a land use regulation, or a new land use

regulation.” ORS 197.015(10)(a)(A). A “land use regulation”

includes a local government’s “zoning ordinance, land divi-

sion ordinance * * * or similar general ordinance establish-

ing standards for implementing a comprehensive plan.” ORS

318 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

197.015(11). Even when a local government does not char-

acterize its actions as be land use regulations, LUBA long

has held that its jurisdiction extends to actions that have a

“clear connection” to the county’s comprehensive plan. Rest-

Haven Memorial Park v. City of Eugene, 30 Or LUBA 282,

288, aff’d, 175 Or App 419, 28 P3d 1229 (2001).1 Consistent

with the text of ORS 197.015(11), to meet the clear connec-

tion test, LUBA has required challengers to show that the

government action, however denominated, establishes stan-

dards to implement the government’s comprehensive plan.

Ramsey v. City of Portland, 30 Or LUBA 212, 217 (1995);

Buys v. City of Portland, 69 Or LUBA 486, 491 (2014).

B. Common Law Jurisdiction

Under the common law, LUBA has jurisdiction to

review local governmental actions that have a significant

impact on land use, even if the action does not fall within the

statutory definition of a land use decision. Marks v. LCDC,

327 Or App 708, 727-28, 536 P3d 995 (2023); Billington, 299

Or at 478-79. We will elaborate on the test later but note

here that it focuses on expected impacts on land use that are

“likely” to occur and are not speculative. Marks, 327 Or App

at 728. The test, we have explained, is “deceptively easy to

articulate” for a standard that, in practice, remains opaque.

Id. at 727-28.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Having outlined the sources and scope of LUBA’s

jurisdiction, we turn to the facts of this case. Petitioners

seek LUBA’s review of Tillamook County’s Ordinance 84-2,

which regulates short-term rentals of residential property.

In their view, LUBA has both statutory and common law

jurisdiction to review the ordinance. Understanding peti-

tioners’ arguments requires understanding of both the reg-

ulatory history of short-term rentals in the county, as well

as an understanding of our previous decisions addressing

LUBA’s jurisdiction over the county’s short-term rental

regulations.

1

Although LUBA’s opinions are not binding on this court, they are relevant

for persuasive value. Friends of Yamhill County v. Board of Commissioners, 351

Or 219, 251-52, 264 P3d 1265 (2011).

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 319

In 2017, Tillamook County adopted Ordinance 84

to regulate the licensing2 and operation of private dwellings

used as short-term rental units in unincorporated areas of

the county.3 Ordinance 84 (2017) required owners of private

dwellings intending to use them as short-term rentals to

acquire and pay for an operation license before using the

dwelling as a short-term rental. The 2017 ordinance also

provided that a license could be revoked for noncompliance

with the ordinance’s provisions; a licensee also could be sub-

ject to a tax penalty.4

In 2022, the Tillamook County board of commis-

sioners passed Board Order 22-03. The order temporarily

suspended the county’s acceptance, processing, and issu-

ance of new applications for short-term rental licenses. A

number of parties sought LUBA’s review of the order. They

argued that LUBA had jurisdiction to review the order on

either or both of two bases. First, they argued that it was

subject to LUBA’s review as a “development moratorium”

because it paused the issuance of new short-term rental

licenses. Second, they argued that it was a “land use reg-

ulation” because, in petitioners’ view, it amended an exist-

ing land use regulation. Specifically, petitioners contended

that Ordinance 84 (2017) was itself a land use regulation,

such that any amendment to the ordinance also qualified

as a land use regulation. Winters v. Tillamook County, 330

Or App 188, 189-90, 189 n 1 (2024) (nonprecedential memo-

randum opinion) (Winters I).

LUBA rejected both arguments. It concluded that

the order was not a “development moratorium” because it

did not involve either “construction or land development,”

as defined by ORS 197.250(1), or “the subdivision or par-

titioning of, or construction on, any land” as defined in

ORS 197.524(1); the order did not prevent the petitioners

2

Ordinance 84 (2017) used the term “permits” to refer to the county’s autho-

rizing of an individual to use their dwelling as a short-term rental. Ordinance

84-2 refers to the same authorization as a “license.” The change in terminology

does not have any substantive impact on the analysis for LUBA’s jurisdiction, and

we use “licensing” in this opinion.

3

Before 2017, the county regulated short-term rental licensing through

Ordinance 69 (2009).

4

The county amended Ordinance 84 in 2019. Those amendments have no

bearing on our analysis of LUBA’s final order.

320 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

from constructing the dwellings they hoped to use as short-

term rentals. Winters I, 330 Or App 188. As to whether the

order was a “land use regulation” by virtue of the fact that it

amended Ordinance 84, LUBA determined that Ordinance

84 itself was not a land use regulation because it did not

adopt, amend, or apply a statewide planning goal, a provi-

sion of the Tillamook County Comprehensive Plan (TCCP),

or other land use regulations. Id. at 190. On judicial review,

we affirmed.5

In 2023, the county adopted a second amended

version of the ordinance, Ordinance 84-2, at issue in this

case. Ordinance 84-2 maintained the licensing scheme

for short-term rentals and established new operational

requirements for them. For example, the ordinance estab-

lishes requirements for solid waste collection—such as

requiring property owners to obtain weekly solid waste col-

lection services, to provide waste bins on site, and to have

an adequate septic system; requires each short-term rental

to pass a fire safety inspection which includes checking for

the presence of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors,

rails on certain stairways, ensuring that fireplaces are

properly ventilated, and requiring emergency escapes in

the property; requires that all structural improvements to

short-term rentals be permitted; and provides procedures

for owners to respond to complaints from neighbors. The

ordinance requires property owners to demonstrate com-

pliance with these—and all other—operational require-

ments. Noncompliance may result in license revocation,

nonrenewal, and penalties.

Ordinance 84-2 also made a few other notable changes

that, in petitioners’ view, demonstrate that the ordinance is

5

In a related challenge, the same residents from Winters I sought LUBA’s

review of county officials’ email denying the residents’ permit applications in

accordance with Board Order 22-033. Winters v. Tillamook County, 330 Or App

191 (2024) (nonprecedential memorandum disposition) (Winters II). LUBA dis-

missed the challenge because it concluded that the emails denying the applica-

tions were not “final orders.” We reversed, concluding that the emails were “final”

because they provided a “clear and decisive” answer to the residents’ permit

application and were signed by county officials. Id. at 194-95. We remanded for

LUBA to determine, in the first instance, whether the county’s denial of applica-

tions otherwise qualified as “land use decisions” subject to LUBA’s review. Id. at

195.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 321

subject to LUBA’s review. For example, the ordinance limits

the number of licenses to one per licensee,6 establishes geo-

graphical subareas within the county and limits the number

of licenses that may be issued for each subarea, establishes

a density limitation on the issuance of short-term rental

licenses, and establishes a minimum rental rate require-

ment to qualify for license renewal.

As noted, petitioners sought LUBA’s review of

Ordinance 84-2, alleging that LUBA had both statutory and

common law jurisdiction. LUBA dismissed and petitioners

seek judicial review of the order of dismissal.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review LUBA’s final order to determine whether

it is “unlawful in substance or procedure.” ORS 197.850

(9)(a). A LUBA order is “unlawful in substance” if it “rep-

resents a mistaken interpretation of applicable law,” mean-

ing that we review for legal error. Kine v. Deschutes County,

313 Or App 370, 372, 496 P3d 1136, rev den, 369 Or 69 (2021).

Petitioners contend that LUBA’s final order dismissing their

challenge for lack of jurisdiction is unlawful in substance

because, according to petitioners, LUBA made mistakes of

law in concluding that Ordinance 84-2 is not a land use reg-

ulation subject to LUBA’s review. Petitioners also argue that

LUBA erred in concluding that it lacked common law juris-

diction to review the ordinance.

IV. ANALYSIS

A. Statutory Jurisdiction

We start with petitioners’ contention that LUBA

had statutory jurisdiction. Petitioners argue that Ordinance

84-2 is a “land use regulation,” within the meaning of ORS

197.015(1), presenting three different theories as to why:

(1) the ordinance amended a prior land use regulation;

(2) the ordinance regulates nonconforming land uses; and

(3) the ordinance qualifies as a zoning ordinance. We address

each of those theories in turn.

6

This limitation applies only to those applications submitted after the effec-

tive date of Ordinance 84-2.

322 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

1. Petitioners’ theory that ordinance 84 (2017) is a land

use regulation.

Petitioner’s first argument rests on the premise

that Ordinance 84 (2017) is itself a land use regulation,

meaning that each amended version of the ordinance,

including Ordinance 84-2, is also a land use regulation.

They assert that Ordinance 84-2 and its prior versions

have a clear connection to the TCCP because the county’s

Land Use Ordinance (LUO) provides that “[a]ny application

or any decisions based upon * * * local regulations admin-

istered by the Director [of the Department of Community

Development] * * * shall constitute an application or a deci-

sion pursuant to” the LUO. 7 LUO § 1.030(2). According to

petitioners, because Ordinance 84-2 delegates to the Director

of Community Development the power to issue, administer,

and revoke short-term rental licenses, any decision by the

director related to those licenses is a “land use regulation.”

LUBA rejected this argument based on its conclu-

sion that Ordinance 84-2 does not establish standards to

implement the TCCP, or otherwise concern the adoption,

amendment, or application of a statewide planning goal, land

use regulation, or zoning ordinance. In so doing, LUBA com-

mitted no legal error. As noted, we recently affirmed LUBA

on the same point in Winters I.8 330 Or App at 189-90. The

petitioners in Winters I made the exact argument that peti-

tioners in this case do: that Ordinance 84 (2017) is a “land

use regulation” because the Director of the Department of

Community Development has authority to issue, deny, and

revoke any short-term rental licenses. Relying on LUBA’s

decision in Ramsey, which we found persuasive, see Friends

of Yamhill County, 351 Or at 251-52, we upheld LUBA’s

7

The LUO implements the TCCP. See ORS 197.175(2)(b) (requiring counties

to “[e]nact land use regulations to implement their comprehensive plans”).

8

The Oregon Rules of Appellate Procedure state that “nonprecedential

memorandum opinions are not precedent and are not binding authority except

as relevant under the law of the case doctrine or the rules of claim preclusion or

issue preclusion.” ORAP 10.30(1)(c). The rules provide that nonprecedential deci-

sions “may be cited if no precedent addresses the issue before the court.” ORAP

13.30(d). Consistent with that limited allowance, we cite to a few nonprecedential

memorandum opinions previously decided by this court that directly address the

issues on appeal because we are not aware of, and the parties do not point us to,

any precedential decisions that address the issues.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 323

dismissal of the petitioners’ challenge because the petition-

ers did not show the requisite clear connection between

Ordinance 84 (2017) and Tillamook County’s Comprehensive

Plan. Id. at 190; ORS 197.015(11) (defining “land use regula-

tion” as “any local government zoning ordinances, land divi-

sion ordinance adopted under ORS 92.044 or ORS 92.046 or

similar ordinance establishing standards for implementing

a comprehensive plan).

As we observed in Winters I, contrary to the peti-

tioners’ argument, the mere fact that the ordinances gave

oversight authority to the Director of the Department of

Community Development—a person whose decisions are

considered land use regulations under the LUO—over

short-term rental licenses in the county does not show that

the ordinance itself contained standards that implement the

county’s comprehensive plan. Winters I, 330 Or App at 190;

see also Ramsey, 30 Or LUBA at 213, 217-18 (no clear connec-

tion between city ordinance that set tree-cutting permitting

procedures and assigned task of reviewing permit applica-

tions to Urban Forestry Commission and city comprehen-

sive plan because the ordinance did not establish standards

to implement the city’s comprehensive plan); Billington, 299

Or at 475 (county action that “merely touche[d] some aspects

of the comprehensive plan” was not a land use decision).

Accordingly, although Winters I is not precedential

and we are free to depart from it, we remain persuaded that

Ordinance 84 (2017) does not implement the comprehensive

plan and, consequently, is not a land use regulation. As a

result, Ordinance 84-2 is not itself a land use regulation by

virtue of the fact that it amends Ordinance 84 (2017).9

9

Petitioners also contend in passing that Ordinance 84-2 implements state-

wide planning Goal 10, which directs local governments to inventory build-

able lands for needed housing units and is, for that reason, clearly connected

to the county’s comprehensive plan. Specifically, petitioners argue that Goal 10,

as implemented in the TCCP, “is an acknowledgement of the tradition and

expanse of second homes in Tillamook County and requires the county to plan

for both ‘permanent’ and ‘seasonal’ populations,” including short-term rentals.

Petitioners’ argument to LUBA was different: that Ordinance 84-2 is meant to

“address local affordable and workplace housing needs and increase availabil-

ity of housing,” which, they asserted, implements Goal 10’s housing policy by

increasing the availability of affordable housing through limiting the number of

324 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

2. Petitioners’ nonconforming use theory

Petitioners’ next argument, as we understand it, is

that the ordinance regulates nonconforming uses of land,

making it a land use regulation for purposes of LUBA’s

statutory jurisdiction. Petitioners cite sections .040(C) and

.080(G) of the Ordinance in support of their argument.

Section .040(C) provides:

“No Nonconforming Status Conferred. The fact that an

owner of property or other entity may hold a license on the

date of adoption of this Ordinance does not confer a prop-

erty right, land use permit or nonconforming use status

under ORS 215.130 to continue operation of a short-term

rental. Operation, advertisement, or offering a dwelling

unit for short-term rental use, in all cases, requires a valid

license.”

Section .080(G) provides:

“Zoning compliance. The property shall be in compli-

ance with all applicable County zoning requirements and

any development permits related to the subject property. If

the property owner claims any sort of non-conforming use

status for any aspect of the property or structures thereon,

the property owner shall obtain a nonconforming use veri-

fication for those aspects through an appropriate land use

decision making process. In no event shall this Ordinance

be construed as a land use or development regulation, nor

does prior operation of a short-term rental give rise to a

nonconforming use right under the County’s land use

ordinance.”

Petitioners contend that those provisions of

Ordinance 84-2 legislatively adjudicate the land use sta-

tus of their dwellings. Petitioners’ argument, as presented

to LUBA, and as we understand it, is that those provi-

sions “adjudicate ineligibility for nonconforming use sta-

tus protections.” In support of that argument, petitioners

rely on Briggs v. Lincoln County, ___ Or LUBA ___ (Order,

LUBA No 2021-118/2022-030, May 2022) (Briggs Ballot

Measure), in which LUBA concluded that a Lincoln County

short-term rentals available in the county. We therefore reject petitioners’ Goal 10

argument as unpreserved.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 325

ballot measure regulating short-term rentals was a land

use regulation.

The county responds that LUBA correctly rejected

that argument when it accepted the county’s argument that

those provisions are distinguishable from the regulation

at issue in Briggs Ballot Measure, and that those provi-

sions reflect the county’s intention that short-term rental

licenses are business licenses that do not, themselves, give

rise to land-use rights. Interpreted that way, the provisions,

contrary to petitioners’ arguments, did not “adjudicate inel-

igibility for nonconforming use status protections.” Rather,

as the county asserted, the provisions stand for the prop-

osition that licensees seeking a nonconforming use status

must go through the ordinary nonconforming use status

process, and that the licensing ordinance is not relevant to

that process.

We understand LUBA to have agreed with the

county’s argument that Briggs Ballot Measure involved a

distinguishable regulation and that the provisions at issue,

correctly interpreted, did not affect the land use process. As

LUBA explained, Briggs Ballot Measure involved a differ-

ent type of regulatory approach to short-term rentals and,

given that difference in approach, does not demonstrate that

Tillamook County’s ordinance is a land use regulation:

“Briggs Ballot Measure was an appeal of a ballot mea-

sure that adopted amendments to the county’s short-term

rental ordinance that deemed ‘existing licensed STR uses’

in certain zones to be nonconforming uses that were not

transferable. That ran afoul of ORS 215.130(5). Ordinance

84-2 does not do that; it recites that possession of a short-

term rental license does not confer nonconforming use

status, and that a holder of a license who claims noncon-

forming use status must establish that status through the

nonconforming use verification procedure in the LUO. It

does not legislatively predetermine the outcome of a non-

conforming use verification application pursuant to the

LUO.”

Petitioners have not shown that LUBA committed

legal error in that analysis. On their face, the provisions of

Ordinance 84-2 signal Tillamook County’s intent to clarify

that its business licensing scheme is not intended to bear

326 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

on the land-use process, and that the ordinary process for

establishing nonconforming uses is not displaced by the

short-term rental regulations. To be sure, the sentence stat-

ing “nor does prior operation of a short-term rental give rise

to a nonconforming use right under the county’s land use

ordinance,” when divorced from its context, could be under-

stood, as petitioners argue, to provide a substantive rule of

decision on an application for a nonconforming use status

application.

Context, however, points toward the conclusion that

the cited provisions simply operate as a clarification that

the short-term-rental licensing ordinance does not directly

affect land use. That sentence is embedded within a sen-

tence setting forth a rule of construction for the ordinance:

“[i]n no event shall this Ordinance be construed as a land

use or development regulation,” indicating the point of the

provision is to make clear that the ordinance itself is not

intended to affect land-use rights. The provision in Section

.040(C) stating that possession of a “license” does not give

rise to property, land use, or nonconforming use rights, like-

wise signals that the objective of the provision is to make

clear that the licensing scheme is not a land-use scheme. For

that reason, LUBA correctly rejected petitioners’ argument

that the ordinance adjudicates nonconforming use verifi-

cation applications and falls within its jurisdiction for that

reason.

In summary, regardless of a local government’s

regulatory approach to short-term rentals, LUBA will only

have jurisdiction to review a challenge to a short-term rental

regulation if the regulation establishes standards to imple-

ment the county’s comprehensive plan or otherwise quali-

fies as a land use decision under the statutory definition.

Ramsey, 30 Or LUBA at 213, 217-18; Winters I, 330 Or App

at 189-90. Here, given the plain terms of the ordinance,

LUBA permissibly concluded that Ordinance 84-2 does not

regulate land use for purposes of LUBA’s jurisdiction. See

Morgan v. Jackson County, 290 Or App 111, 117, 414 P3d

9217, rev den, 362 Or 860 (2018) (the phrase “lawful use”

in ORS 215.130(5) refers to land use laws, not regulatory

licenses that require businesses to obtain certain licenses to

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 327

operate; that is, business license requirements are not land

use regulations).10

3. Petitioners’ zoning ordinance theory

Petitioners’ final theory as to why Ordinance 84-2

falls within LUBA’s statutory jurisdiction is that it is a zon-

ing ordinance and is therefore, a land use regulation. ORS

197.015(11) (defining “land use regulation” as including

“zoning ordinance[s]”). Their argument rests on the notion

that ORS 215.503(9) defines what it means to be a zoning

ordinance for purposes of ORS 197.015(11).

ORS 215.503(9) provides:

“For purposes of this section, property is rezoned when

the governing body of the county:

“(a) Changes the base zoning classification of the prop-

erty; or

“(b) Adopts or amends an ordinance in a manner that

limits or prohibits land uses previously allowed in the

affected zone.”

Petitioners assert that Ordinance 84-2 “limits or

prohibits land uses previously allowed” because it limits the

use of private homes as short-term rentals where such “use”

was previously allowed.

LUBA has concluded previously that ORS 215.503(9)

does not bear on whether a county ordinance is a zoning

ordinance for purposes of ORS 197.015(11). Briggs v. Lincoln

County, ___ Or LUBA ___ (LUBA No 2021-113, Feb 10, 2022)

(Briggs Ordinance).11 We upheld that determination in Dean

10

Our conclusion that the provisions at issue reflect the county’s treatment of

short-term rentals as a business licensing matter, rather than a land use matter,

does not speak to the question of whether the ordinance has any effect on the

existence of property rights. We do not address the question here. As we observe

in our common law jurisdiction analysis below, the question whether Ordinance

84-2 infringes on protected property interests is distinct from the question

whether Ordinance 84-2 is the type of local government decision that LUBA has

jurisdiction to review. See 333 Or App at 330 n 13.

11

After LUBA determined in Briggs Ordinance that it did not have jurisdic-

tion to review the challenge to the ordinance, it transferred the case to circuit

court upon the petitioners’ request. Briggs Ordinance, ___ Or LUBA at ___ (slip

op at 14). The challengers to the ordinance argued to the circuit court that the

ordinance was a land use regulation and, alternatively, that the ordinance was

unconstitutionally vague. The court declined to address the land use question

because that was a determination left to the province of LUBA. Briggs et al. v.

328 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

v. Lincoln County, 329 Or App 811 (2024) (nonprecedential

memorandum opinion). Although Dean, like Winters I, is a

nonprecedential decision that we are free to depart from,

we remain persuaded that LUBA correctly concluded that

ORS 215.503(9) is irrelevant to the determination whether

a regulation is a zoning ordinance. Rather, as the text and

history of ORS 215.503 indicate, the provision was enacted

to ensure that property owners received notice of land-use

decisions affecting their property, and was not intended to

change what does, or does not, constitute a land-use decision.

ORS 215.503 was approved by voters as Ballot

Measure 56 (1998). Under the plain terms of the statute,

property is rezoned for purposes of the notice requirement

only when a county acts in two ways: it changes the zoning

category of a property, or it limits or prohibits “land uses”

previously allowed. ORS 215.503(9). Although the statute

does not define “land uses,” there is no indication in the text

that the statute was intended to alter existing law on what

constitutes a land use decision and what does not. That is,

“land uses previously allowed” in ORS 215.305(9) refers to

uses of property as allowed by the county’s land use laws

and zoning categories.

The information presented to voters about the effect

of approving Ballot Measure 56 supports that conclusion.

The Voters’ Pamphlet informed voters that the purpose of

Measure 56 was to “require cities and counties to provide

individual written notice to every landowner when the city

or county proposes a new or amended zoning ordinance,”

when local governments “propose changes to a city or county

comprehensive land use plan that will require changes to

existing zoning designations,” and provided a time period

for local governments to provide such notice. Official Voters’

Pamphlet, General Election, Nov 3, 1998, 14. Thus, contrary

to petitioners’ suggestion that Measure 56 was intended to

define (or redefine) what it means for property to be rezoned,

the Voters’ Pamphlet indicates that the purpose of the

Lincoln County, Case No. 22CV38244. The circuit court went on to address the

constitutional arguments properly within its jurisdiction and held that certain

sections of the ordinance were unconstitutionally vague and severed those from

the rest of the ordinance. Id. The parties to the circuit case have appealed the

court’s judgment to this court. Briggs v. Lincoln County, A183535.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 329

measure was to ensure that property owners received notice

of existing types of land-use changes.12

For example, Measure 56 was titled “Expands notice

to landowners regarding changes to land use laws.” Voters’

Pamphlet at 12. The explanatory statement confirms that

notice is required “for proposed changes to a city or county

comprehensive land use plan that will require changes to

existing zoning designations.” Id. at 14. The yes-vote result

statement stated that the measure would “require govern-

ments to mail notice to landowners regarding changes to

land use laws.” Id. at 12. The summary informed voters that

the notice requirement applied with regards to “changes to

state, local, or metropolitan service district land use laws

and regulations.” Id. Further, arguments in support of

Measure 56 focused on changes to a county’s comprehensive

plan or land use and zoning changes that affect the allow-

able uses of the underlying land of the property. See id. at 15

(Legislative Argument in Support), 17 (argument in support

by Oregon State Grange), and 19 (argument in support by

Bill Hackett).

Accordingly, in view of that text and history, and

as we concluded in Dean, ORS 215.503(9) does not estab-

lish that Ordinance 84-2 is a zoning ordinance subject to

LUBA’s jurisdiction.

B. Common Law Jurisdiction

Petitioners alternatively argue that if LUBA lacks

statutory jurisdiction, then it has common law jurisdiction

because, in petitioners’ view, Ordinance 84-2 has a “signifi-

cant impact on the use of land.” Citing the ordinance’s pro-

visions limiting the number of short-term rental permits in

the geographic subareas and per licensee, petitioners argue

that the ordinance will have a significant impact on land

use in the area because it will limit property owners’ ability

to use homes as short-term rentals. Relatedly, they argue

12

Commentators also have recognized that the statute is a notice pro-

vision. Edward Sullivan and Caleb J. N. Huegel, Oregon’s Resource Protection

Conundrum, 58 Willamette Law Rev 1, 74 n 311 (2021) (stating that ORS 215.503

is a statute requiring local governments to provide notice to property owners

about actions that may directly or indirectly change the underlying zoning of

land or limit or prohibit uses that were previously allowed on land).

330 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

that the license restrictions in Ordinance 84-2 infringe on

their constitutionally protected property rights.13

We recently canvassed the law on the signif-

icant impact test in Marks, 327 Or App 708, for the pur-

pose of assessing the common law jurisdiction of the Land

Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC).14

There, we explained that a local government’s decision had

“significant impacts on present or future land use” and,

therefore, satisfied the requirements of the “significant

impacts test” when the decision changed the land use sta-

tus quo of the area at issue, such as when a city authorized

the improvement of an already dedicated but unimproved

city street. Id. at 728 (citing City of Pendleton v. Kerns, 294

Or 126, 653 P2d 992 (1982)). That authorization created a

significant enough change in the traffic pattern of the area

that it changed the status quo of the previously unimproved

street. Id. We observed that, in another case, we concluded

that a county’s grant of incorporation for a new city within

the county that fixed boundaries for the new city and set a

date for a special election on the incorporation of the city

had significant impacts on present or future land use. Id.

at 729 (citing 1000 Friends of Ore. v. Wasco Co. Court, 62

Or App 75, 77, 659 P2d 1001, rev den, 295 Or 259 (1983)). We

explained that was so because the county’s grant of incor-

poration changed the use of the underlying land that the

new city would be built on from rural to urban land use. Id.

(internal quotation marks omitted). We also observed that

if the voters defeated incorporation, “no land will be avail-

able for urban use,” and although that would “maintain the

status quo, it would nevertheless have significant impact on

13

At this point, in view of petitioners’ assertion of a constitutional claim,

it is worth remembering that the precise issue before us is whether LUBA had

common law jurisdiction to consider petitioners’ claims. A conclusion that an

ordinance’s effect on land use is not the type that gives rise to LUBA’s juris-

diction is not the same as a conclusion that the ordinance’s effect on property

rights is constitutional. It simply means that LUBA is not the forum for resolving

the constitutional claim. In other words, to the extent petitioners suggest that

Ordinance 84-2 effects a constitutional taking, a determination that LUBA lacks

jurisdiction to review the ordinance means that a court, rather than LUBA, is

the appropriate forum for such a claim.

14

As we observed in Marks, the same test applies to both LUBA and LCDC.

Marks, 327 Or App at 727-32.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 331

future uses and planning activities.”15 Id. (internal quota-

tion marks omitted).

Ultimately, applying the “significant impact” test

to the intergovernmental agreements at issue in Marks,

we determined that those agreements, which governed the

timing of land-use planning for certain geographical areas,

would likely have a significant impact on future land use

development in the affected region. Id. at 734-39.

In this case, LUBA reasoned that Ordinance 84-2

did not have any “significant impact” on land use for the

purpose of common law jurisdiction because petitioners did

not demonstrate how the ordinance would affect “the land

use status quo of their dwellings” and noted that Ordinance

84-2 “has no more or less impact on land use than any other

business licensing programs that regulate business use of

property.” (Emphasis in LUBA order.) LUBA also noted that

the county’s zoning code was silent with respect to short-

term rentals and concluded that the ordinance did not affect

the designated land uses for property within the county in a

way that would implicate LUBA’s jurisdiction.

Having reviewed LUBA’s reasoning, we are unable

to conclude that LUBA’s application of the significant impact

test on these facts is erroneous in substance. As explained

above, the county has not treated short-term rentals as

a land-use matter or otherwise sought to regulate them

through the comprehensive plan or other laws addressing

land use. Land designated for use as a dwelling remains

designated for use as a dwelling under Ordinance 84-2.

And although the licensing scheme will have some effect

on property owners who wish to use their homes as short-

term rentals and, as practical matter, will affect how some

owners are able to use their dwellings, under the significant

impact test, the mere fact that a regulation affects how a

person may use their property does not mean the regulation

(or other governmental action) affects land use in a way that

triggers LUBA’s common law jurisdiction.

15

Thus, as we explained in Marks, “in some instances, a decision not to change

the use of land can have a significant impact.” 327 Or App at 729 (emphasis in

original).

332 Akiyama v. Tillamook County

Rather, for LUBA to have jurisdiction under the sig-

nificant impact test, the regulation must have a “significant

impact” on present or future land use. Marks, 327 Or App at

710 (emphasis added); see id. at 728 (“[W]hereas some deci-

sions, such as to resurface a street or repair potholes, have

only a de minimis impact on land use, and some, such as to

construct a major arterial road or a bridge, have a substan-

tial impact, a large number of a city’s day-to-day decisions

regarding public works and roads fall in between.”); Kerns,

294 Or at 135 (city’s authorization of improvement for pre-

viously unimproved street would have significant impact on

present and future land use because it would change traffic

flow); 1000 Friends of Oregon, 62 Or App at 77 (county deci-

sion to incorporate new city within county boundaries had

a significant impact on present and future land use because

it would change formerly rural land to urban use); Cave

v. Lincoln County, ___ Or LUBA ___,___ (LUBA No 2021-

122, Mar 4, 2022) (slip op at 9) (holding that the significant

impact test applies when the “petitioner identifies non-land-

use standards that have some direct bearing on or relation-

ship to the use of land that the petitioner believes apply

to the decision and would govern LUBA’s review.”); Arbor

Lodge Neighborhood Ass’n v. City of Portland, ___ Or LUBA

___, ___ (LUBA Nos. 2019-089/107, May 19, 2020) (slip op

at 10) (city decision to extend building permits after city

changed zoning regulations applicable to development proj-

ect did not have significant impact on present or future land

use because the extensions did not alter land uses allowed

in the zone and did not have relationship to use of land).

We agree with LUBA that petitioners have not

demonstrated that the licensing program in Ordinance 84-2

meets that standard. Under the program, dwellings will stay

dwellings and many short-term rentals will stay short-term

rentals. Although Ordinance 84-2 may have more than a

de minimis impact on land use, there is no basis to conclude

that the impact rises to the level of substantial.16 Marks, 327

16

On this point, we do not express an opinion on whether a county decision to

deny an application for a short-term rental license on the ground that the appli-

cant’s property is in a geographic subarea that has reached its license limit would

have a significant impact on the land use of the property such that LUBA would

have common law jurisdiction.

Cite as 333 Or App 315 (2024) 333

Or App at 728 (noting the range of decisions that have more

than a de minimis impact on land use but that fall short of

having the substantial impact required to trigger LUBA’s

common-law jurisdiction). And, thus, we are not persuaded

that LUBA erred in determining that it lacked common law

jurisdiction to review the ordinance.

Affirmed.