Part of what compelled David and Anne Papworth to get into the business of farming here was the way the state protected agricultural lands.

They took the big step of purchasing a farm in Washington County because of the agricultural zoning and other land use regulations that aim to preserve farmland and a farming future in the state.

The Papworths chose 95 acres near the juncture of the rolling hills of the Chehalems and the plain of the Tualatin Valley — some of the best farmland in the entire world.

Their farm is in an area with miles and miles of contiguous orchards, berry fields, plots devoted to nursery stock and other crops. His farm is planted in hazelnut orchards and fields of grain.

But the assurances David thought he had for a farming future fell away in one fell swoop with Measure 37 — neighbors are proposing to build subdivisions that would surround David’s and other farms.

“My wife and I were shocked when Measure 37 passed in 2004. Don't Oregonians realize what is happening now that the doors have been thrown open to lawyers, corporations and real estate developers?,” David asks.

A couple of claims seek subdivisions and another is for “unspecified” development, which leaves the door wide-open for almost anything. All told, within a two-mile radius of David’s farm, 54 Measure 37 claims seek as many as 1,761 homes.

In addition, Measure 37 claimants are not required to address issues related to water supply. In David’s area, groundwater is limited and a number of residents have had to redrill wells in recent years. Because water is in short supply, his and other land is planted in drought-tolerant crops.

David says Measure 37 is unfair to his property rights. “Under Measure 37, certain owners mdash; corporations in many cases mdash; get ‘special rights’. These owners get to go back in time, sometimes 30 years or more, and retroactively undo laws previously agreed to by a democratic process. Their neighbors, similarly situated in
every way except by date of first ownership, do not,” David says.

Farming operations are unable to exist over the long-term next to subdivisions.

“Having a residential neighborhood and all the pressures that come with a population density more akin to an urban area right next to my farm will make it extremely difficult for me to continue,” David says.

“Oregonians have taken such good care of the land all these years that is hard to fathom that people really meant to throw it all away in one moment,” David says.

David says Measure 49 restores balance and closes the loopholes of Measure 37 that allow large subdivisions. David is hopeful that he’ll be able to continue farming if Oregonians say “yes” to 49.