Washington County

Rural districts

Local district codes vary between counties. Each maps to a broader class that determines which pathways generally apply.

Pathways in this county

• raw holdGenerally available

  Holding the land without placing a dwelling on it is generally available. But a parcel in a farm or forest district is generally not idle land in the way the phrase suggests: it is usually under farm or forest special assessment, which is why the tax bill is small relative to the acreage. That assessment is tied to the land continuing in its qualifying use, the potential liability generally passes to a buyer on sale rather than staying with the seller, and disqualification generally adds additional tax to the next roll — for designated forestland, the difference between five years of tax paid and what would have been paid at real market value. Buying such a parcel and simply letting it sit is therefore the plan most likely to trigger that, rather than the safest one.

  Last verified August 16, 2026 · source

• raw holdGenerally available

  Holding the land without placing a dwelling on it is generally available. Under Oregon’s assessed value limit, the tax base on unimproved land generally grows slowly until new construction occurs.

  Last verified August 15, 2026 · source

• second dwelling rvNot adopted by this county

  This county has not adopted the optional state pathway allowing a recreational vehicle to be used as a second dwelling, so this option does not generally appear to be available here. The county's current planning materials state that living in a recreational vehicle is prohibited, with the exception of an approved health hardship permit outside the urban growth boundary, and make no provision under ORS 215.490. Counties can adopt it at any time, so this is worth re-checking.

  Last verified September 9, 2026 · source

• second dwelling aduAvailable with conditions

  The county adopted A-Engrossed Ordinance 912 on April 28, 2026, effective May 28, 2026, allowing one rural accessory dwelling unit through a Type I procedure in the AF-10, AF-5 and RR-5 districts under Community Development Code Section 430-3. AF-20 shares a class with AF-5 and AF-10 here but is not among the districts the ordinance names, so a parcel mapped AF-20 is outside it. The code conditions the unit on a lot or parcel outside a UGB and outside an urban reserve, at least two acres, one primary detached dwelling, a letter from a structural fire protection provider that it is willing and able to serve the lot, no part of the lot within an area where the Water Resources Commission has restricted groundwater use, no other permanent or temporary dwelling on the lot, no more than 900 square feet of habitable floor area, siting no farther than 100 feet from the primary dwelling, no vacation occupancy, and no later division that separates the unit from the primary dwelling. The same ordinance allows a Rural Historic ADU under Section 430-4, where a home built between 1850 and 1945 is retained as the accessory unit beside a new primary dwelling. Under state law a property generally may have either an accessory dwelling unit or a rented recreational vehicle, but not both.

  Last verified September 9, 2026 · source

• second dwelling aduNot adopted by this county

  A-Engrossed Ordinance 912 (adopted April 28, 2026, effective May 28, 2026) allows rural accessory dwelling units in the AF-10, AF-5 and RR-5 districts and amends those three sections of the Community Development Code. It does not extend the allowance to the AF-20 district, which shares a class here with AF-5 and AF-10, so a parcel mapped AF-20 is outside it. The county can extend the allowance at any time, so this is worth re-checking.

  Last verified September 9, 2026 · source

• temporary occupancy during constructionGenerally not permitted

  Living in a recreational vehicle is generally not permitted in this county. County materials describe an exception for specifically approved health hardship situations outside the urban growth boundary, supported by physician documentation, through a temporary hardship dwelling permit. General construction-period occupancy does not appear to be offered as a separate pathway. Note separately that state law generally limits a local government's ability to prohibit recreational vehicle occupancy in a small number of specific situations, including within a recreational vehicle or manufactured dwelling park with lawful utility connections, and on a lot whose dwelling was made uninhabitable by a natural disaster. Those situations are narrow and are generally not what a buyer of bare rural land is contemplating, but they are worth raising with the county if one of them applies.

  Last verified August 16, 2026 · source

• primary dwellingAvailable with conditions

  In farm and forest districts a new dwelling depends on qualifying under one of several statutory routes, rather than on the district designation alone. The routes generally in play are a forest template dwelling, where a 160-acre square centred on the tract contains enough lots and dwellings that existed on 1 January 1993 — between three and eleven other lots depending on soil productivity, alongside three dwellings still standing; a lot of record dwelling, turning on how the parcel was created and how long it has been held; a nonfarm dwelling on farm land shown to be generally unsuitable for farm use; and replacement of a lawfully established dwelling. Each is decided by the county on evidence. The template route turns on what surrounds a tract rather than on the tract itself, so two parcels in the same district can reach opposite answers — and neighbouring houses are not evidence either way, since much rural housing predates the statewide planning system entirely.

  Last verified August 16, 2026 · source

• primary dwellingAvailable with conditions

  Rural residential districts are generally the most likely rural districts to support a first dwelling, subject to the county's development standards, approved sanitation, legal access and applicable setbacks. Approval is still a county determination rather than an entitlement.

  Last verified August 15, 2026 · source

• non resource rezoneAvailable with conditions

  Changing the plan designation and zoning of resource land is generally a long, costly and uncertain undertaking rather than a routine application, and it is generally only worth considering by someone who already owns the property. State law generally expects rezoning of individual farm or forest tracts to occur through a county or region wide legislative review, through a goal exception meeting stringent criteria, or by demonstrating the property does not meet the definition of agricultural land. Market demand alone is generally not sufficient grounds. Anyone contemplating this should expect to engage a land use attorney before spending money on it.

  Last verified August 15, 2026 · source

• short term rentalNot currently regulated

  County materials state that short-term rentals are not regulated in Washington County. Work on a licensing ordinance was not carried into the county's planning work program after the Board accepted a staff recommendation against it in the 2023–25 cycle, citing start-up cost. This is a policy position that can change, and lodging taxes may still apply independently of whether a permit is required. Note that this pathway presupposes a lawfully established dwelling to let — on bare land it generally becomes relevant only once a dwelling exists.

  Last verified September 9, 2026 · source