Portland Metro accommodated a 50% increase in population between the early 1970s and 2000, with only a 2% increase in land use. Compare this with Erie and Niagara Counties, where land use increased by 72% while population actually dropped 13%.

Oregon's ability to control sprawl was threatened by a November, 2004, referendum in which residents passed a ballot initiative that required state and local governments to either compensate landowners when environmental or planning laws harm property values, or else to waive the regulations. In 2007 this initiative was weakened by the passage of Measure 49 that restricted the circumstances under which property owners must be compensated when a state or locality changes land-use regulations for reasons other than public safety or health.