LOVELAND, Colorado – To its list of ideas for changing the way horse businesses use their land, the working group in charge of developing new rules has added a grace period for existing horse businesses to comply, and the term “equestrian center” to its vocabulary.
“If you’re living next to dust and manure, you’re gonna complain,” said Linda Hoffman, director of the County’s Rural Land Use Center. Hoffman outlined top issues surrounding horse property use, existing land use code, and the group’s new ideas at the first of two public meetings Tuesday night.
The grace period, called a “transition program”, would probably involve a fee and a deadline for facilities that have, for whatever reason, never been approved by the county, but would like to be recognized now, according to Hoffman.
The working group coined the term “equestrian center” to combine horse boarding and teaching of riding lessons or other horse activities. In existing land use code, the terms “riding academy” and “boarding stable” bring confusion to an already murky set of rules, and that is “one of the things we think needs to be cleaned up,” said Hoffman.
In a presentation to a sparse crowd of about 30, Hoffman restated the working group’s goal to make any proposed rules scalable based on benchmarks that might include things like property size, client horse population, or visitor traffic.
Instead of allowing public comment during the meeting as it has in the past, the county opted for an “open house” format following Hoffman’s presentation. However, Meredith Hodges, owner of the Lucky Three Ranch, interrupted the agenda and delivered an impassioned plea for deregulation of horse businesses, and accused the county of hampering the public’s right to speak using the open house format.
County Commissioner Kathay Rennels attended the meeting, as did a number of county employees. Rennels spoke with small groups after the meeting, and reiterated her desire for a plan that preserves all sizes of equine businesses and still addresses the impact of horses on land and neighboring properties.
The working group was appointed by county commissioners earlier this year to study horse business land use as the result of about 25 complaints over a year or more, primarily from neighbors who object to dust, smell, traffic and other impacts created by horse activity. The county’s goal, according to Hoffman, is to create a plan that will endure growth and be fair to the equine industry and property rights of non-equestrian citizens.
Enforcement and detection of unapproved horse businesses remains an unsolved part of the puzzle. Historically, the county acted solely on anonymous complaints. Now unless a situation is serious, the county has put further enforcement on hold until a new plan goes before the county commissioners for a December vote.
“Until youre caught, turned in, or something, the county probably won’t come knocking on your door,” said Hoffman.
At this point, there are no plans to include horse rental stables or breeders that own large populations of their own horses in the proposed changes.
Public feedback questionnaires and detailed handouts on scalability, the transition program, and the “equestrian center” definition were available at centers staffed by working group members following the meeting.
The next public meeting takes place Thursday, June 25, 2009, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at the Larimer County Courthouse Offices Building, Hearing Room, 1st Floor, 200 W. Oak Street, Fort Collins. Presentation at 6 pm., open house to follow.
The Coloradoan: Horse Business Rules in Works
MyHoofprints previous coverage: Horse Property Issues
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