Patrick Voigt tends 600 cows on an 8,500-acre ranch north of Prairie City in the wide, open spaces of Eastern Oregon. The Middle Fork of the John Day River and two of its tributaries meander through Voight’s property.

Patrick voted for Measure 37 because he believes people should be able to have the right to do as they wish with their property but within some reasonable limits.

"You want to be able to do what you want with your land. But at the same time, landowners should not be able to destroy things for the people around them. It shouldn't be a free ticket to do whatever you want."

Patrick, like most Oregonians, wants to see Measure 37 fixed.

"Anything is an improvement over Measure 37," he says emphatically.

A third-generation rancher, Patrick supports Measure 49 as a way to restore some thoughtfulness by closing loopholes in Measure 37 that allow large subdivisions and commercial and industrial development.

Large subdivisions, like the 600-lot neighborhood proposed by one of Patrick’s neighbors for 600 acres of land, are inappropriate for the middle of rangeland. The claim filed via Measure 37 by Patrick’s neighbor also proposes recreational facilities for the property.

Patrick worries about the impact of 600 homes. "It would be a dogfight over water. There is never enough water out here. When you have one owner, that owner prioritizes how to use the water, but when you have lots of owners and everyone wants to be green, well, it will be a mess," he says.

And even though the subdivision wouldn’t be on the John Day River, “it certainly could not be good for the river, either," Patrick says.

That many homes concentrated in one area weren’t contemplated when the roads were designed, which would lead to traffic problems and pose safety risks.

Measure 49, by allowing landowners to get the green light via Measure 37 for no more than 10 homes, solves a multitude of problems that will occur with development proposed in Measure 37 claims.