SALEM — The House has unanimously passed a bill allowing dog training and dog kennels on farmland in Oregon.
House Bill 4170 was approved Feb. 24 by a 60-0 vote. It now goes to the Senate.
The bill allows commercial dog boarding kennels and dog training on land zoned for exclusive farm use, providing certain limitations are met.
Among the limitations, no more than 10 dogs can participate in a dog training class. And it limits the number of classes to six a day.
Dog trainers must obtain a conditional use permit if they plan to exceed either limitation.
Current law allows kennels on non-high-value farmland under a conditional use permit, but doesn’t define what a kennel is. The lack of definition leads to a patchwork of interpretations and regulations among county planners, according to Jim Johnson, a land-use expert with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
Current law is silent on the issue of dog training on land zoned exclusive farm use.
—Mitch Lies