Winterbrook Planning assisted the Oregon Humane Society in determining the land use category and permit process to enable a major expansion of its Northeast Portland facility.

The “Tier 3 complex zoning analysis” required extensive research into the history and operations of the site, and a carefully crafted argument to the City of Portland that the animal shelter is an agricultural use and therefore allowed in its industrial zone. Writing the application required communications with city planners, the project architect, and the client.

The request ultimately resulted in a zoning confirmation letter that approved the existing and proposed use, thereby avoiding a land use review altogether. 

OPB recently ran a story about the new hospital:

“The scale of this expansion is nothing short of ginormous. We have an existing hospital that’s 5,000 square feet that serves the animals that are part of the Oregon Humane Society’s programs in addition to a low-income cat spay program. This one is targeting the community in general with a real focus on helping people keep their pets when they can’t afford medical care. It’s about 16,000 square feet of additional very high tech medical space and there are other programs that constitute almost 35,000 square feet of additional real estate for the Oregon Humane Society to do even more, even bigger and even further into our community.”

-Sharon Harmon, president and CEO of the Oregon Humane Society

Congratulations to OHS!