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The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that local officials erred in establishing rural and urban reserves, including designations in the Stafford area.

(Brent Wojahn/The Oregonian/2002)

The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned a 50-year growth plan established by Metro and Portland-area counties Thursday, setting the stage for a debate about the state’s land use system.

In the opinion, the court critiqued designations of rural and urban reserves in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties and criticized state land use regulators for approving the plan.

The broad nature of the ruling means county and Metro officials will have to restart work on a plan that took years and millions of dollars to develop unless the Legislature steps in.

Earlier this week Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, released a map of a modified reserve plan that he hopes the Legislature will pass this month.

His plan would lock some controversial farmland in the Helvetia area of Washington County and affirm a 2011 decision by Metro to open roughly 2,000 acres near Beaverton and Hillsboro for future development.

The Legislature set up the urban and rural reserves system in 2007 in order to provide more certainty for farmers and developers, but the designations became mired in controversy.

If the Legislature acts, the planning effort could bypass much of the legal scrutiny that has bogged it down since local governments approved it in 2010.

But Clem's effort is controversial. Washington County, Hillsboro and Metro officials have all said the so-called "land use grand bargain" that Clem is proposing would undermine local control over land use designations.

-- Christian Gaston