SALEM — An Oregon law meant to expedite housing construction doesn’t apply to dwellings intended for relatives who work with farmers in agricultural zones, according to the state’s Court of Appeals.

The appellate court has confirmed that exemptions from certain land use standards passed in 2017 only apply to housing within the urban growth boundaries of cities.

In exclusive farm zones, that means family helper dwellings must still comply with local government criteria to ensure the homes are inhabited by relatives assisting with agricultural operations.

Last year, Lane County authorized such a dwelling on a 60-acre farm near Creswell, which the Landwatch Lane County nonprofit alleged did not meet those land use criteria.

The Oregon Court of Appeals has now ruled the county’s approval was properly overturned by the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA.

While lawmakers removed restrictions on residential construction in 2017 to cope with Oregon’s housing shortage, “the most plausible reading” of the statute is that it’s “intended to apply only to the development of housing within an urban growth boundary,” the appellate ruling said.

Kim Helsel, the landowner who sought a farm helper dwelling for her son, argued the statutory language was “plain and ambiguous” and that local governments can only apply “clear and objective standards” in evaluating such proposals.

Deciding whether a dwelling is needed for a relative to support a primary farm operator is considered a subjective standard, which would be waived under the new provisions.

However, the “legislative history provides strong support for LUBA’s conclusion” that these legal changes only “addressed housing on land within an urban growth boundary,” the appellate ruling said.

The statutory language is not so clear as to obviate the need to examine the law’s legislative history, the Court of Appeals said.

“We decline petitioner’s invitation to interpret the statute in a manner that would permit counties to dispense with the discretionary approval criteria” for such farm dwellings, the appellate ruling said.

An attorney for the landowner declined to comment on the Court of Appeals decision.

Landwatch Lane County is gratified the ruling supports the statute’s intent to leave the family farm helper dwelling criteria undisturbed, which was also confirmed by legislation last year, said Lauri Segel, the group’s legal analyst.

The interpretation favored by housing developers would have derailed the requirement that such dwellings can only be built for relatives who legitimately help with farm operations, Segel said.

“All of that would go away. None of that would be required and everything would be allowed outright,” she said. “We were scared that if we didn’t prevail, the whole state would be subject to this horrible loophole.”