Local Ordinance Requiring Conditional Use Permit For Shooting Range Not Preempted By State Law

The Court of Appeals reviewed and upheld the circuit court decision in Conrady v. Lincoln County.  The dispute arose between property owners and Lincoln County regarding whether a conditional use permit was required to operate a shooting range on land zoned for timber use.  The county argued that statutes cited by the property owners limited the county’s ability to regulate what happens on an established shooting range but that the county retained the authority to require property owners to secure a permit to site a shooting range in the first instance.

The Court of Appeals concluded that the local ordinance requiring a conditional use permit to operate a shooting range was not an ordinance regulating, restricting, or prohibiting the discharge of firearms on a shooting range and therefore was not preempted by state law.

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“Local Ordinance Requiring Conditional Use Permit for Shooting Range Not Preempted by State Law,” was published in the March 2014 issue of the Oregon Real Estate Land Use Digest.