About us

Save Helvetia is a coalition of neighbors, friends, and concerned citizens who are working to protect Helvetia, Oregon and its neighboring agricultural lands from unlawful uses.

History

Since 1973 Oregon has been blessed to have robust land use laws: (SB 100, SB 1011, 2014 Oregon Court of Appeals decision, and HB 4078) that protect farmland and natural resource areas. Oregon's land use laws have provided citizens with the legal tools with which to repel the constant attacks on Helvetia and surrounding high value farmland against development.

Citizens have defended this special area for over 100 years from many attempts by various entities to chip away at Helvetia's productive agricultural lands. Various groups of citizens have banded together in solidarity in opposing a wide variety of unwise proposals from our city, county and state governments.  Read about the ways that citizens have kept Helvetia a place worth caring about.

Save Helvetia as an organization was officially formed in 2009 as a 501(c)(4) non-profit advocacy organization when Washington County nominated over 7,000 acres of Helvetia's best farmland as urban reserves, destined for urbanization. Residents and visitors from the entire region were outraged and banded together to testify at the city, county, regional and state level about the county's misapplication of SB 1011, the Reserves law. The efforts of hundreds of citizens were ultimately successful in protecting Helvetia from unwarranted development. We invite you to read more detail about the Urban and Rural Reserves process, view the maps and read our arguments.

Mission

Our mission is to advance policies, leaders, and actions that protect Helvetia's treasured resources.  Activities which fall within our mission include:

• Advocating for rural reserves
• Challenging unnecessary urban growth boundary expansions
• Advising governmental bodies about interchange improvements/new road construction
• Clarifying soil fill practices

Board and Steering Committee

Our Board members are:

• Faun Hosey (Vice President)
• Robert Bailey (Secretary)
• Allen Amabisca (Treasurer)
• Linda DeBoer

Our Board coordinates with a Steering Committee to plan our activities.  Our Steering Committee members are:

• Victoria Demchak, Stoneboat Farm CSA
• Matt and Dana Furrow, Furrow Farm
• Raechel Gano, Eagles Nest Reserve Vineyards and Winery
• Pam and Spencer Gates, Gates Farm
• Lyn Jacobs, La Finquita del Buho CSA
• James Just, Pumpkin Ridge Gardens CSA
• Catherine Keith
• Greg Mecklem, Eagles Nest Reserve Vineyards and Winery
• Karl Mecklem, Eagles Nest Reserve Vineyards and Winery
• Tom Minnaert, Jackson School Lavender
• Aaron Nichols, Stoneboat Farm CSA
• Linda Peters
• Casey and Dave Schoch, Schoch Dairy and Creamery
• Geoff Scott, Helvetia Farm Market
• Dave Vanasche, Vanasche Farms
• Diana Yates

If you would like to know more about our group, please contact us.  We also invite you to join our e-mail list.

About Helvetia

Helvetia is a small unincorporated community in Washington County, Oregon, and is located north of Hillsboro along U.S. Route 26 northwest of Portland.  Helvetia's iconic farmland is dotted with Century farms that sustain a diverse, productive agriculture-based economy.  Helvetia's cultural heritage embraces the pre-settlement Atfalati (Twality) inhabitants, now part of The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.  German-Swiss farmers immigrated to the Helvetia area over 150 years ago.  They saw a strong resemblance to their native Switzerland in the fertile soils and rolling hills of the Tualatin Mountains and named the area "Helvetia", which is Latin for "Switzerland."  The Swiss culture remains a vibrant element of our area as we continue to honor their hard-working heritage.  Read more about Helvetia.

The Helvetia area is home to such notable features as the Helvetia church and cemetery, the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals, Helvetia Vineyards and Winery, and the Helvetia Tavern.  Many people know of the Helvetia area because of the television series featuring the Roloffs and their farm.  Helvetia also hosts many annual events, such as the Helvetia Half Marathon and the lavender festival. 

A wide variety of agricutural operations operate in the area, including both small and large produce and grain farms, orchards, dairy farms, alpaca farms, and equine-related operations such as riding arenas and stables.  A notable type of farm is the subscription farm (also known as a CSA, which stands for Community-Supported Agriculture).  Below is a brief video featuring one of the several CSAs in the Helvetia area, La Finquita del Buho:

(Video courtesy of OLCV)

Many other businesses make their home in Helvetia and surrounding areas, serving the agricultural community and providing services and amenities for nearby urban residents.

Much more information about Helvetia may be found in the Save Helvetia testimony presented at the August 20th, 2009 public hearing.

You may also learn more about Helvetia from the Helvetia Community Association.