The facts behind animal density proposal in Umatilla County
By Terry Murry on Friday, April 12th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – County Community Development Director Bob Waldher is trying to bring some reason to what he says are baseless assumptions based on proposed changes to Umatilla County’s proposed amendments to its animal density regulations. He said there is plenty of time for public comment and a lot of the changes people are speculating about aren’t even happening.
One change is would limit many loud foul like roosters can be kept in a few zones like rural residential areas.
“It would not impact property zoned for resource use, such as our exclusive farm use zones and our grazing farm zones,” he said.
The proposed text would increase the number of small livestock like goats and sheep that can be kept from two animals per acre to four per acre. The change also adds the same animal density standards to other non-resource zones such as forest or mountain residential.
What the proposed amendment does NOT do is change the number of cows and horses allowed in non-resource zones like rural residential. It has no impact on resource-zoned land such as Exclusive Farm Use and Grazing/Farm. It does not change the property line setback standard for barns and it also does not change a property’s current zoning.
The Umatilla County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 at the Umatilla County Justice Center Media Room, 4700 NW Pioneer Place regarding the proposed amendments. Subsequently, the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, June 5 at 10 a.m. at the Umatilla County Courthouse in Pendleton.
The proposed amendment is available for inspection at the courthouse in Pendleton. A copy of the amendment is also available for download at 25-cents a page from the planning department. It can be found at https://umatillacounty.net/departments/community-development/planning-division/land-use-hearings. For more information, call the Umatilla Planning Department at 541-278-6252.
