Yes on Measure 49:

Preserving what makes Oregon special.
Protecting the rights of Oregon families.
Oregon voters in 2004 passed Measure 37. It was advertised as the way to protect the property rights of individuals who wanted to build a few houses on their land, if the law allowed that when they purchased the property. That was voters intention.

Three years later, however, Measure 37 is delivering something much different. Consider these facts:

• Since the passage of Measure 37, more than 7,500 claims for development have been filed that seek monetary compensation or waivers of land use regulations. Monetary compensation requested totals $15 billion. Without the ability to pay that kind of money to private property owners, county governments are faced with claims to develop more than 750,000 acres of Oregon—land that largely is protected forests, prime farmland and in areas where water for drinking and irrigation is limited. The sprawl that these claims will deliver fundamentally threatens our quality of life.
• It turns out that individuals and families seeking to build a house or two on their own land are NOT the typical Measure 37 claimant. Land speculators—including large out-of-state developers and some giant timber companies—are the more typical types of claimants and large subdivisions is the most common proposed development. In all, upwards of 2,700 housing subdivisions are proposed under Measure 37 claims. Another 2,900 claims have been filed as “unspecified,” which means they too could become subdivisions, or anything the owner was allowed to do when they bought their property. All told, approximately 640,000 acres face likely housing subdivisions under Measure 37.
• Commercial and industrial developments — such as rock blasting operations, a one-million-square-foot shopping mall, big box stores and endless strip malls — are among the claims under Measure 37, proposed for completely inappropriate areas.

The deep-pocketed developers and timber companies that financed Measure 37 are moving ahead at full-speed. But what of the small individuals they claimed to be helping? Measure 37’s flawed language has left many of them out in the cold — without the right of transferability to a new resident nor protection for surviving spouses.

Measure 49: Finding the right balance for Oregonians

Ballot Measure 49 — which will appear on the November 6, 2007 ballot — is a fair and balanced approach to solving the mess left by Measure 37:

• Measure 49 protects Oregon's farmland, forests and places where water supplies are limited. It also protects rights of families to build homes on their own property.
• Measure 49 fixes the flaws in Measure 37 that allow large housing subdivisions, big-box stores and strip malls where they don't belong.
• Measure 49 restores balance by helping small property owners and preserving Oregon's special quality of life for future generations.

Get involved to protect our home… Oregon!

We all have a stake in passing Measure 49. If you care about protecting Oregon or your own backyard — or if you are a neighbor or even if you have a Measure 37 claim — we need your help in every corner of our state!