Two area Measure 37 claims approved

Rural lands just east of Sisters along or near Highway 126 may be dotted with houses in the future following action taken last week by Deschutes County Commissioners. The commissioners granted land use waivers under voter-approved Measure 37 for an 80-acre property owned by Kay Cyrus Knott and Jane Gragg at 16915 Highway 126 and for 30 acres owned by David Hurtley at 69090 Hurtley Ranch Road.

Gragg and Knott now may develop 16 five-acre lots on their property located on the south side of State Highway 126 near Camp Polk Road on a small ridge covered with juniper and pine. Earlier this year they filed a $3 million claim against the county stating that land use changes made after they purchased the property in the early 1970s caused them to experience an economic loss.

Hurtley may now proceed to develop a 15-lot subdivision on 30 acres he owns north of Highway 126 in the Cloverdale area. He was seeking either $600,000 in compensation for the lost value of his property or a waiver to subdivide his land.

The two Sisters area Measure 37 waivers were among seven approved by the commissioner at their meeting Wednesday, September 7.

“We don’t really know what we will do with the property if we would be allowed to develop it; we are up in the air,” Kay Knott said earlier this year after filing the claim. “While it was purchased first as an investment, now we might like to build up there and reduce the maintenance work that we have with our current home and property. I would rather have time to have fun.”

After Gragg and Knott purchased the property, the land use designation was changed to Exclusive Farm Use.

“With the EFU classification neither Jane nor I can build a home on this great view property. In addition, we cannot even divide the property between ourselves if we wanted to,” Knott explained. “Finally, since we have no water rights, we cannot sell the property for farming. If we were to try to manage it as agriculture land for grazing, we might be able to put one cow on the 80 acres. Therefore, all we can do is pay taxes.”

In Hurtley’s claim, he showed the value of his land if subdivided as $27,619 an acre. In its present classification of Exclusive Farm Use it is valued at $5,289 an acre.

Oregon voters approved Measure 37 in last fall’s election providing for compensation of lost value or a land-use waiver if land use changes were made without their approval after they had purchased a property.