As the 2026 legislative session gets ready to kick off, the Oregon Property Owners Association (OPOA) is highlighting three pivotal bills that every Oregonian – regardless of their zip code – should have on their radar to support. 

At OPOA, we believe that a smart, balanced, and flexible land use system is essential for the future of our entire state. By partnering with both urban and rural local governments, state officials, and organizations that want to see Oregonians thrive, we’ve built a common-sense agenda to:

Protect Family Farms & Fun: Keeping family farms profitable and ensuring all Oregonians have access to affordable “family fun” through farm stands and agritourism. 

Fast-Track Community Recovery: Providing a pathway for families to quickly rebuild homes after fire or other disasters. 

Unlock Housing Solutions: Moving past the “red tape” to deliver guaranteed affordable housing through smart public-private collaboration.

With that said, here are the bills all Oregonians should be supporting this session!

HB 4153: Protecting Family Farms and Local Fun by Fixing Oregon’s Broken Farm Store Rules

If you’ve been following our work, you know that Oregon’s agritourism industry has been under fire lately. After the DLCD’s recent “Farm Stand Rulemaking” ended in a frustrating stalemate, it became clear that the agency wasn’t going to be able to provide the clarity our farmers desperately need. That’s why HB 4153 is so important. It takes the issue straight to the legislature to secure the legal protections family farms need to survive.

The Problem: Outdated Laws and “Gray Areas”

Right now, Oregon law is stuck in 1973. If a farmer wants to sell a jar of local jam, sell tickets to a flower festival, host a “cow train” at a pumpkin patch, or let kids meet Santa at a Christmas tree farm, they have to jump through expensive permitting hoops. Why? Because the state doesn’t technically consider these activities “farming” on land zoned for exclusive farm use. 

In Oregon, the path a farmer takes to get a permit can make or break their business. Right now, getting a farm stand permit is the “easy” route – a straightforward process that lets farmers do both retail sales and agritourism events. The alternative is an “agritourism event” conditional use permit, which is a total nightmare. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and it forces farmers into long, public battles over things as simple as a hayride.

Because the farm stand permit is the only one most family farms can afford, it’s where most of the agritourism we love actually happens. But even then, the rules for these permits are still stuck in the dark ages:

• Income is capped: Farmers are strictly limited on how much they can earn from retail items or “fee-based” activities like educational classes or harvest festival tickets.

• Entertainment is banned: Rules currently prohibit “banquets, “public gatherings” and “entertainment” inside or on farm structures. This means a hay bale slide or a farm-to-table dinner under a tent can actually be flagged as a land-use violation.

• A “Gray Area” for Food and Drink: Vague rules mean farmers never know if they’re breaking the law by serving basic snacks. This creates legal confusion over whether a farm can sell an apple cider donut, a hot dog for the kids, or a glass of local wine for the parents. Instead of clear guidelines, farmers are left guessing if providing simple hospitality will result in a fine.

The Solution: What HB 4153 Actually Does

HB 4153 replaces outdated law with an updated permitting pathway for “Farm Stores.“ It cuts through the red tape that the DLCD rulemaking failed to address, providing a clear framework for farmers to flourish while keeping the focus on agriculture.

• Defines the “Farm Store”: This bill gives farmers a clear, legal right to sell farm products, local goods, retail items, and host the agritourism events that families love. It does so without forcing farmers through a complicated conditional use permitting path that will cost them thousands of dollars and serious headaches.

• Ends Arbitrary Income Caps: HB 4153 removes the outdated rules that limit how much a farmer can earn from retail or agritourism. We shouldn’t be punishing farmers for being successful or for finding creative ways to stay in business.

• Fixed Rules for Food and Farm-to-Table: Provides the clarity farmers need to host farm-to-table meals or serve grab-and-go foods like an apple cider donut or a hot dog— without fear of a land-use violation. It even ensures parents can enjoy a local beer or glass of wine while their kids play at the pumpkin patch, making the farm a true destination for hospitality.

• No “Paper Farms”: To keep the system honest, the bill requires that farming must be happening on the property and puts in other safeguards to make sure these stores don’t turn into hotels or full-scale restaurants. It’s a balanced approach – not a free-for-all – that keeps the focus on agriculture.

• Protects Property Rights: It prevents the state and counties from over-regulating the “fun” out of farming. While counties can still manage the basics like traffic, parking, and noise, they won’t be able to impose conditions that prevent the farm store from operating successfully. 

Why This Is a “Must-Pass” 

The stakes couldn’t be higher. According to the latest USDA Census, Oregon lost over 2,000 family farms in just five years. That is a 5.5% decline that should alarm every Oregonian.

When we lose a family farm, we lose a piece of our local food system and a destination for family memories. By modernizing these rules, we aren’t just helping a farmer’s bottom line— we’re making sure the next generation of Oregonians can still afford to visit a farm, learn where their food comes from, and enjoy a day in the country.

After the failure of the recent rulemaking process, HB 4153 is the common-sense lifeline our rural entrepreneurs need to stay financially sustainable. It’s time to stop the red tape and start protecting the family farms and “family fun” that uplift our state.

SB 1561: Stopping the “Second Disaster” for Oregon Homeowners

When a natural disaster strikes, the tragedy should end once the smoke clears. But for too many Oregonians, the fire is just the beginning of a years-long nightmare of red tape. We saw this firsthand after the 2020 Labor Day fire and the Rowena fire, where families who lost everything were met with a wall of bureaucracy when they tried to rebuild. 

The Problem: Zoning Laws That Punish Victims

In rural Oregon, rebuilding a home isn’t as simple as hiring a contractor. Because of our outdated land-use laws, a rebuild is often treated as a land-use decision. This triggers a process that is slow, expensive, and— worst of all —invites trouble:

• Neighbor Vetoes: Current laws require public notice, which gives neighbors the power to file appeals and stall a family’s recovery for years in court.

• Lost Records: If a home was built decades ago and the county lost the paperwork, the state often acts like the house never existed. Homeowners are stuck in bureaucratic limbo, trying to prove their home was legal while living in a trailer on their own land.

What SB 1561 Does: A Common-Sense Path Home

SB 1561 fixes this by creating a mandatory, streamlined process to get families back into their homes. It effectively bypasses the litigious appeal system that has weaponized land-use rules against disaster victims.

• Fast-Tracked Approval: If your home was lost to a fire or another disaster, the county must let you rebuild if you meet basic criteria. It’s no longer a decision up for debate— it’s a right.

• Proving It’s a Home: You don’t need a 50-year-old permit that the county probably lost anyway. Homeowners can prove their home was legal simply by showing ten years of residential tax history.

• Reasonable Limits: To keep things fair, the new house has to stay within the original footprint and can’t be more than 25% larger than the old one.

• No Outside Interference: By making this an administrative fix rather than a land-use decision, neighbors can no longer block your permits or tie you up in red tape.

Why This Matters: Basic Fairness

Supporting SB 1561 is about making sure our laws help our neighbors instead of standing in their way. We shouldn’t be forcing survivors of the Rowena or Labor Day fires to fight the government just to put a roof back over their heads. This bill ends the “second disaster” of gridlock and ensures that when Oregonians lose their homes, the state actually helps them recover.

HB 4035: Unlocking the Door to Guaranteed Affordable Housing

For years, Oregon’s “Urban Growth Boundary” (UGB) rules have felt like a gate that stays locked even when we’re in a housing crisis. In 2024, we took a big step toward fixing that with a new law that allowed cities to expand faster—but only if they guaranteed that 30% of those new homes were deed-restricted and affordable. It was a bold idea, but the rules were so rigid that many cities were disqualified before they could even apply. HB 4035 is about making sure that promise of affordability actually reaches our communities.

The Problem: A Tool Most Cities Couldn’t Touch

The 2024 law was a landmark, but “land preservation” advocates pushed for so many restrictions that it became a tool for the few, rather than the many. Cities with clear housing needs were blocked because they didn’t meet a “severe” enough threshold, or because of technicalities involving unusable vacant lots. We ended up with a powerful engine for affordable housing that was effectively left in park.

What HB 4035 Does: More Options, Less Red Tape

This update turns that restricted pilot program into a practical, essential tool for building the homes Oregonians can actually afford.

• Guarantees Affordability: The 30% affordability requirement stays, but this bill makes the tool accessible to more cities. It lowers the bar for eligibility so communities can build housing before their crisis becomes unmanageable.

• Fixes the “Unusable Lot” Glitch: Under the old rules, a city could be blocked from expanding if they had “vacant” lots inside city limits— even if those lots were impossible to build on because they lacked basic water or sewer lines. HB 4035 fixes this common-sense error.

• Creates Complete Neighborhoods: By increasing acreage limits, builders can finally build “complete communities” where affordable apartments and homes sit right next to parks, childcare centers, and small corner stores. This is required in the bill – now builders have the flexibility to bring this to life. 

Why You Should Support: Homes Families Can Actually Afford

Supporting this bill is a vote for common-sense affordability. It ensures that when a city grows, it grows for everyone— not just the highest bidders. By allowing for walkable, bikeable neighborhoods with diverse housing types, we are creating the kind of Oregon where a young family can afford their first home and a senior can find a place that fits their budget.

HB 4035 stops the endless arguments over lines on a map and focuses on what really matters: getting roofs over heads and building neighborhoods where people can actually afford to live, work, and play.

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not represent the opinions or positions of any party represented by the OPOA Legal Center on any particular matter.