Planning and development decisions do not always reflect the goals of sustainability and livability that most local people envision for their communities. In many cases, these decisions can be appealed and, if approached effectively, can be overturned or amended to yield outcomes more favorable to community interests.

However, because land use decisions in Oregon operate under the “raise it or waive it” principle at all levels, people who want to intervene legally must invoke the applicable land use rules in the earliest stages of the process. In other words, proper arguments and proper timing are everything!

Goal One Coalition can assist you in determining if legal intervention is a viable option and, if so, can help ensure that you act in a timely, strategic manner. We also will support you at every step along the way, from local hearings and appeals to the state Land Use Board of Appeals—and even, when necessary and advisable, through the Oregon appellate courts. We provide our legal assistance at subsidized or reduced rates to community advocates and prefer to help at the very beginning of the process, when it is most beneficial and economical.

For assistance with litigation and appeals, please contact our Staff Attorney, Jan Wilson, at jan@goal1.org or (541) 484-4448.

For additional information, you can also visit our online resources page.

Land Use Law Clinic

As part of our litigation work, Goal One Coalition provides internships and externships for law students at our Eugene office, in conjunction with the Sustainable Land Use Project at the University of Oregon School of Law.

Students at the Land Use Law Clinic work closely with our legal staff, helping to map strategies, prepare testimony, and present cases at all levels. Assignments are tailored to allow students to pursue their interests in specific areas of land use law (i.e., coastal, wildlife, forestland, farmland, or wetlands protections), while challenging them to learn new areas of law and the processes unique to land use work. Students also interact with the client advocates and the non-lawyer professionals in the areas of land use planning and the various scientific disciplines that interact with land use law (i.e., hydrologists, wetlands botanists, arborists and foresters). Students conduct research into the nuances of land use law, becoming familiar with the particular sources of published land use legal decisions and with the state and local agencies that regulate and process land use applications.

The Land Use Law Clinic thus benefits community advocates and law students alike – bringing them together to promote the goal of more livable communities and sustainable economies within a healthy and diverse natural environment.