Karen Lippsmeyer and her husband live on a 165 acre farm near Independence. They moved to Oregon in 1992 because they wanted a better environment to raise their children. They think it’s beautiful and it definitely feels like home to them.

On their farm, Karen and Mike raise sheep and horses and lease some land to a grass seed grower. They’ve also set aside 64 acres in a wetland preserve program. It’s important to them that their daughter and two boys grow up with clean air and clean water.

Now Measure 37 can ruin their little slice of paradise. A Measure 37 claim was filed across the road for a 100-house subdivision on 1-acre lots. To the east, another claim has been filed for several more houses, and there are two more Measure 37 claims within a quarter mile, including one for 179 houses.

Karen and Mike’s area is zoned for Exclusive Farm Use. Now, because of Measure 37, it’s threatened to be paved over, taking their quality of life with it.

They’ve seen other parts of the country lose productive farmland and it would be a tragedy to see that happen in their corner of Oregon. Overcrowding, increased air pollution, impacts to water quality — that’s not what want they want for their kids or their state.

Karen and Mike believe that preserving our farmland also helps protect our national security. Feeding a nation with food grown here decreases our reliance on other countries. And fragmentation of farmland with new subdivisions makes it harder for neighboring farmers to stay in business.

Unfortunately, abuses of Measure 37 don’t consider the impacts of large developments to neighboring families like the Lippsmeyers. That’s why the ballot referral to fix Measure 37 is so necessary. It strikes the right balance by allowing modest development, while protecting Oregon’s farmland and farming families.

Read more Oregon stories for Measure 49.