Measure 49 reopened the method to review vested rights under 34 year-old case law in Clackamas County v. Holmes, 265 Or. 193 (1978). But, the analysis is vexing because very few local governments and courts are getting the analysis right. However, with each new decision, the Court of Appeals and Oregon Supreme Court are attempting to clarify how local governments and trial courts should consider the application of the Holmes factors necessary to make a vested rights determination.

The Holmes factors are:

1) The ratio of prior expenditures to the total cost of development;

2) The good faith of the landowner in making the prior expenditures;

3) Whether the expenditures have any relationship to the complete project or could apply to various other uses of the land; and

4) The nature of the project, its location and ultimate cost.

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