The director of the Oregon Ferret Shelter fears that the shelter may have to move or close because of a zoning issue it faces with Clackamas County.

When Chris Mathis and her husband, David, purchased the property on South Holly Lane in Oregon City back in 1992, it was located in a district zoned for general farm use.

When they moved in, they checked with county government officials and were told they were could use the property as a ferret shelter, Mathis says.

But when a complaint was lodged against the shelter recently, county officials slapped the Mathises with a citation for operating a business from their property without land-use approval.

Mathis is unsure who filed the complaint.

Upon responding to the complaint, the county determined the shelter was in violation of the zoning ordinance, says county planning director Mike McCallister.

He says the zoning hasn’t changed, and just because the shelter has been operating for so long doesn’t mean it ever was in compliance with the county code.

“There’s no information that we have that they obtained a permit when they first started,” he says.

Clackamas County has given Mathis the choice of either closing the shelter or applying for a business permit, a process that she says the process requires pricey adjustments to her home that she can’t afford.

"We do not accept either of their options," says animal law attorney Geordie Duckler, who is representing the Oregon Ferret Shelter. "We're not applying for a business permit because they're not running a business."

The bone of contention revolves primarily around what the definition of “farm use” actually entails.

The county's definition of 'general farm use' in property zoned as a Rural Residential Farm Forest 5-Acre District includes: "Feeding, breeding, selling, and management of livestock, poultry, fur-bearing animals, or honeybees."

According to the county, a shelter that adopts and cares for domestic ferrets does not meet all those stipulations.

“They aren’t breeding them; they aren’t producing new animals,” McCallister says.

All parties agree that ferrets indeed constitute fur-bearing animals.

However, Clackamas County maintains that since the animals are not being managed or sold for the purpose of producing fur, the shelter is in violation of the ordinance.

Duckler says that doesn’t make sense for Mathis to close her shelter because she is helping to save ferrets, rather than kill them.

“The only thing my clients are not doing is killing and slaughtering. That really shouldn’t make a difference,” he says. “There’s nothing about managing a fur-bearing animal that requires that you kill it.”

The RRFF-5 zoning also includes “Any other agricultural use, horticultural use, animal husbandry, or any combination thereof.”

According to the county, the Oregon Ferret Shelter does not conduct animal husbandry, either, which it considers to be “a branch of agriculture concerned with the production and care of domestic animals.”

The fact that the shelter cares for and adopts ferrets for use as domestic pets – rather than breed them – is not a “normal and customary farm practice,” according to the county.

Duckler says their next step is to file for declaratory relief, essentially asking the court to provide a legal interpretation of the county ordinance. They aren’t seeking money, he notes, just permission to operate as the shelter has for the last 21 years.

He estimates they will receive a hearing date in a month or so.

Duckler is confident about the case. He cited two cases that went to the Oregon Court of Appeals: Siegert v. Crook County and Linn Co. vs. Hickey, both of which allowed that dog kennel operations constituted animal husbandry.

If they don’t win their case, Mathis fears for the fate of ferrets throughout the state.

“I’m worried that if they get us to the point where we can’t do business, there will be no place for them,” she says.

Currently, hers is the largest ferret-only shelter in Oregon, aside from Lane Area Ferret Shelter and Rescue in Eugene. Mathis estimates she takes in about 350 ferrets each year.

Many local animal shelters direct ferret owners directly to her rather than take in the animals, she says.

Currently, about 100 ferrets are available for adoption at the shelter, with another 30 that are sick and require special care.

“One time we had over 300 ferrets here for adoption,” she says. “There’s a huge need.”

Mathis says they may move the shelter to another county in order to continue operating if they need to.

It’s unlikely she will apply for a home business permit. The application fee alone is $520, and she says the process would require thousands of dollars in fees for surveys, necessary renovations and other costs.

“We just don’t have the money. We’re hand to mouth here,” Mathis says. “Every dime is going to the ferrets.”

The nonprofit, volunteer-run shelter has already spent about $2,000 in legal fees and paperwork relating to the case, she says.

She and her husband have been planning to retire within the next couple of years, however.

“What I’m really looking for is for somebody to take over,” she says.

She’d love to turn over the shelter name and assets to someone who fancies ferrets as much as she does, adding that she’s happy to train them.

In the meantime, she’ll continue caring for ferrets as long as she can.

If you'd like to help, you can donate to the shelter online at oregonferretshelter.org or call 503-557-8369.

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