Dave Bugni makes his living as a structural engineer. As a result, he's a numbers man. And to Bugni, the numbers that Measure 37 is beginning to generate don't add up to a healthy future for Oregon.

Dave and his family have lived on 70 acres in a remote section of Clackamas County outside of Estacada for 16 years. They love their rural piece of Oregon, with its rolling hills, fresh air and breath-taking views. So when Measure 37 first appeared on the ballot, he didn't much like it. He saw some potential for increased development out his way. But when he started to crunch the numbers after it passed, his dislike turned into an active campaign to rein in the excesses of Measure 37.

"I have two main areas of concern about Measure 37," Dave says. "One is the local impact it could have right here where I live, and the other is a concern for what this could do throughout the state."

On properties adjacent to or within spitting distance of his own land, Dave cites a series of Measure 37 claims that could result in the development of at least 140 new houses in an area with only about 200 homes currently. Elsewhere, all this new development could be built on less than a third of a square mile, but instead it is scattered throughout working forests — raising questions about wildfire risk and the high cost of providing services and roads. The largest claim would allow construction of 90 new homes on 90 acres less than two miles from Dave's home.

That's a lot of homes; in fact, it would double the local population if all claims were allowed and all homes were built.

"It's not just the number of new homes that concerns me, but what those homes would do to our infrastructure," Dave says. "That sort of increased demand on the aquifer could just tap it completely out, and then what will we all do for water? Our transportation system out here is, well, fairly primitive. It will have to be seriously upgraded, and who's going to pay for that? Then there's the increased potential for forest fires as more people move in."

Which leads to Dave's second concern. If this is what's going on right in his back yard, he says, imagine the same situation replicated across Oregon as developers sweep in to buy up farmland and wooded acres that they can then convert to homes, strip malls, gravel pits and big box retail stores.

"Oregon used to be a leader in land use planning. We were known nationwide for it," he says. "Now that could be all overturned if we don't fix what's wrong about Measure 37."

The number of Measure 37 claims right in his back yard got Dave Bugni sufficiently riled up that he circulated a community letter of concern among his neighbors. "I was amazed to find that they all are opposed to the way Measure 37 has evolved," Dave reports. "People who are died-in-the-wool conservatives are just as opposed to this thing as the liberals are, because they see what it's doing to our beautiful state."

Dave sent the letter, signed by most of his neighbors, off to the governor and his local representatives. Now, he's waiting for the chance to become one of the number of voters who say "yes" to Measure 49 — before Measure 37's numbers ruin the state he loves.