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d. Exclusive farm use zoning as provided by law, substantially limits alternatives to the use of rural land and, with the importance of rural lands to the public, justifies incentives and privileges offered to encourage owners of rural lands to hold such lands in exclusive farm use zones. 17. The existing parcel is 3.5 acres in size; too small to be a commercially viable farm parcel and too small to be considered a significant amount of open space. No expansion of urban development is proposed, or would be caused, by the proposed division. The proposal meets the criteria in 16. 18. Uses applied for under Oregon Revised Statutes 215.213 (2) and (3) (1975 version) must meet the criteria found in statute: Single-family residential dwellings, not provided in conjunction with farm use, may be established, subject to approval of the governing body or its designate in any area zoned for exclusive farm use upon a finding that each such proposed dwelling: a. Is compatible with farm uses described in subsection (2) of ORS 215.203 and is consistent with the intent and purposes set forth in ORS 215.243. b. Does not interfere seriously with accepted farming practices, as defined in paragraph (c) of subjection (2) of ORS 215.203, on adjacent lands devoted to farm use. c. Does not materially alter the stability of the overall land use pattern of the area. d. Is situated upon generally unsuitable land for the production of farm crops and livestock, considering the terrain, adverse soil or land conditions, drainage and flooding, vegetation, location and size of the tract. e. Complies with such other conditions, as the governing body or its designate considers necessary. 19. It was demonstrated above that the proposed division is consistent with the intent and purposes set forth in ORS 215.243 (1975 version). The existing parcel is 3.5 acres in size; too small to be a commercially viable farm parcel and too small to be considered a significant amount of open space. Also, the area is already characterized by rural residential homesites. There is no indication that surrounding properties would not continue to be farmed if the dwellings were approved. It can be made a condition of any approval that the maximum special setback from surrounding properties in farm or forest use be retained to minimize any potential for conflict with surrounding resource uses. The property is generally flat and the soils on the property are class II and VI soils, which are able to be farmed. However, the size of the property makes it difficult to farm commercially. Approval of two single-family, non -farm dwellings, one on each newly created parcel, would not appear to remove property from commercial farm production. The proposal complies with the criteria in 18. 20. The General Agriculture designation is described in the comprehensive plan which came into effect in 1973. A portion of that designation addresses non -farm residential development: It is also the intent of the Plan to assure that the type of non farm residential use locating in the rural General Agricultural area is of a type which cannot readily be supplied in an urbanized area. That is, the residential use should be for the purpose of providing at least one of the following types of housing: a. A very low density residential environment (The distinction between urban and rural density is often difficult to make. In this Plan, one acre per dwelling unit is generally considered as the minimum site size for rural density. In addition to this, the total number of units concentrated in one localized area must also be considered. As indicated in the policy statements that follow at the end of this section, the greater the number of units located in one area, the lower the overall density should be.)