The foundation of statewide program for land use planning in Oregon is a set of 19 Statewide Land Use Planning Goals. The goals express the state's policies on land use and related topics, like citizen involvement, housing, and natural resources.
Most goals are accompanied by guidelines, which are suggestions about how a goal may be applied. As noted in
Goal 2, guidelines are not mandatory.
Oregon's statewide goals are achieved through local comprehensive planning. State law requires each city and county to adopt a comprehensive plan and the zoning and land-division ordinances needed to put the plan into effect.
Local comprehensive plans must be consistent with the Statewide Planning Goals. Plans are reviewed for such consistency by the state's Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC). When LCDC officially approves a local government's plan, the plan is said to be acknowledged. It then becomes the controlling document for land use in the area covered by that plan.
Oregon's planning laws apply not only to local governments but also to special districts and state agencies. The laws strongly emphasize coordination -- keeping plans and programs consistent with each other, with the goals, as statutes are updated, and with acknowledged local plans.
Other Resource Documents
Summary of Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals
Oregon's Statewide Planning Goals and Guidelines (2019)
Goal Adoption and Amendment Dates (2019)
History of Land Use Planning