Brianna and Eric Cadwell and John Shepherd are all too aware of a problem that doesn’t get enough attention in Oregon. As land-use planning laws are written, it can take decades to reach a final decision on how a specific property may be used. That isn’t right.

Shepherd is the pastor of the Shepherdsfield Church, located on his property outside Sisters. He began holding weddings there about 20 years ago. In 2014, county officials said weddings and the church were not allowed on property within a special zone designed to protect wildlife. Since then Shepherd has spent countless hours and considerable money to gain approval for both.

Still, it wasn’t until Wednesday, after at least one trip to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, that commissioners resolved the matter by allowing the church on Shepherd’s property and giving him permission to hold 27 weddings a year there.

The Cadwells may also be closing in on finality, but they’re not there yet. Their fight, to use a pair of small, private lakes they built on their property as focal points in their proposed Tanager development, has not gone on as long as Shepherd’s, perhaps, but it’s been expensive and emotionally taxing. One lake can be used for swimming. The second is for water skiing.

Part of the KC Development Group’s plan for the property included allowing Tumalo Irrigation District to store water in the two ponds the Cadwells built. That would have been a boon to the district and its patrons, and the lakes would have provided a source of water in an arid land susceptible to fire.

One neighbor, in particular, has fought the development on residentially zoned land since at least 2014. The issues of concern have included noise and destruction of wildlife habitat.

The fight has gone on long enough.

Land-use planning decisions should not be allowed to drag out for years or decades, even if one neighbor doesn’t like what another is doing, or an outside group decides to get involved. The Deschutes County Commission recognizes that fact and seems ready to approve the lake project, with conditions.

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that will end the fight. No landowners should have to spend years to resolve these matters.