Horse operations: Don't throw the baby out with the bath water

FORT COLLINS, Colorado – It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
The working group in charge of developing new rules for horse stables and Larimer County staff have partnered up, vowing to work together to solve the horse facility problem. The solution could take at least another six months.
On the table will be the working group’s vision for a plan that horse businesses can swallow, and county staff’s technical expertise and vision for business regulations. The goal: A conceptual model that will survive to a final vote by county commissioners.
NEWS FLASH! Planning commissioner Kathay Rennels resigns

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If you count the livestock restrictions battle of 2006, what to do with horses is nearly a four-year-old problem. If you count cattle and dairy cows, some would argue that the conflict between livestock owners and the county has been around a lot longer than that.
After 10 months of three-hour-long meetings, the working group, made up of a cross section of volunteers appointed by county commissioners, thought it had achieved a plan and a spirit of compromise from even the bitterest opponents of new regulations for horse stables.
But when it came to a vote, in spite of ardent testimony in favor of the proposed rules for equestrian operations, and few speaking against the proposal, planning commissioners quashed the plan, and tabled their vote November 18.
Planning commissioners cited lack of enforceability, lack of attention to neighbors, lack of punishment, and lack of specifics in their reasons for tabling a vote on rules for horse operations.
“I was very, very disheartened with the planning commission,” said working group member Wendy Chase at a follow-up meeting November 30th. “That they would just table it. Think of the people that have been waiting … 10 months now. There are people that are out there waiting to apply, not apply, or move out of the county.”
“I’m not sure that they’re even on board for the whole concept,” said working group member Jill Cook. “If they’re not on board, who cares about the details?”
“I think we wasted our time presenting this to the planning commissioners,” said working group member Trisha Swift. “I was under the impression we would be answering to the county commissioners, not presenting to the planning commission. They don’t know horses.”
Working group members also urged that two members, Sonja Craighead and Lisa Oppenheimer, who drafted an alternative proposal, the so-called “minority report”, and those who have not regularly attended meetings be expelled from the group. Members took exception to accusations made during the public comment period at the November 18 planning commission meeting by Dave Craighead, husband of Sonja, that they were participating in the workin group unethically because most of them operate non-compliant stables. (Having a compliant stable was not a qulification for being on the working group.)
“For the record, I am not in violation of any Larimer county code that I know of,” said Chase.
“If we don’t agree with them 100 percent, they’ll come out with another minority report,” said working group member Barry Feldman. “It needs to be real clear that they are no longer officially part of this group.”
After members had time to vent, at the suggestion of Linda Hoffman, director of the county rural land use center, the working group put aside its frustrations and agreed to team up with county staff to come up with a revised proposal.
“All hope is not lost,” said Feldman. “I know from talking to a couple of commissioners that they understand more than the planning commissioners do.”
The “problem” is deciding what to do with horse facilities -- and getting stakeholders to agree. The county launched the horse facilities “study” because of about 25 complaints over several years by neighbors of horse properties, most of which were not boarding stables.
The project morphed into new rules for horse operations only, with the goal to develop a fair plan that would survive predicted population growth and development.
“You’ve got vision. We’ve got rules, standards, and what the community thinks,” said county planning department staff member Matt Lafferty, who cited lack of communication with county staff as the reason the working group’s proposal flopped.
One major issue is whether horse operations should have the money-saving land use privileges granted to agricultural operations. Culturally, most horse people believe they fall under the broad, protective umbrella of the “Code of the West” (http://www.co.larimer.co.us/planning/planning/code_of_the_west/index.htm) described by former county commissioner John Clarke. Technically, while the county typically turned a blind eye unless there was a complaint, horse businesses actually fell under a costly set of rules designed for commercial businesses.
At the next meeting December 14, the working group and county staff will also look at:

• Adding some sort of public input to the process at all levels
• Toughening a proposed scalable system that would determine a horse operation’s level of review
• A horse operation’s proximity to urbanization
• Applicable land use standards
• A resource stewardship plan
• Horse trailer storage
• The threshold for equestrian events
• Applicability of building codes and traffic fees
• The transition program for existing horse operations

Working group members acknowledged they lacked the technical expertise of planning department employees. “We want to be as much a tool to you as we want you to be a tool with us,” said Lafferty.
“What we want to do in this group is allow a healthy horse industry in Larimer county,” said working group member Kathy Doesken. “It would be real travesty if the baby was thrown out with the bathwater.”
The working group/county staff’s next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, December 14, Larimer County Courthouse Offices Building, Lake Estes Conference Room, 3rd Floor, 200 W. Oak Street.
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