Lake Oswego Preservation Society v. City of Lake Oswego

The Oregon legislature enacted statewide land-use planning goals. One of these goals, statewide-planning goal five, required local governments to identify and designate historic properties to protect such properties and regulate their use and development. In 1990, the City of Lake Oswego (defendant) designated a property, the Carman House, as a historic property pursuant to statewide-planning goal five. The owner of the Carman House, Richard Wilmot, had initially objected to the designation, but Wilmot did not object to the final decision by the city to designate his property as historic. In 1995, the Oregon legislature enacted ORS 197.772(3), which provided that a property owner could remove the historic designation from a property that had been previously imposed by a local government. Wilmot did not opt to remove the historic designation from his property. Eventually, the Mary Caldwell Wilmot Trust (trust) took ownership of the Carman House property with its historic designation intact. The trust sought to remove the historic designation from the Carman House pursuant to ORS 197.772(3). Ultimately, the city approved the trust’s request to remove the historic designation from the Carman House. The Lake Oswego Preservation Society (preservation society) (plaintiff) appealed the city’s decision to remove the historic designation to the Land Use Board of Appeals (board). The board overturned the city’s decision to remove the historic designation. The trust appealed, arguing that ORS 197.772(3) permitted any subsequent owner of a property designated as historic to seek removal of such designation. The appellate court reversed the decision of the board. The preservation society appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court.