Animals

Board Approves Giddy-up for Small Horse Stables

County supervisors helped make sure people living in the unincorporated county will continue to be able to “cowboy up” Wednesday by approving a new streamlined, cheaper, easier permit process for small horse stables.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

County supervisors helped make sure people living in the unincorporated county will continue to be able to “cowboy up” Wednesday by approving a new streamlined, cheaper, easier permit process for small horse stables.

Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Bill Horn, who led the Board in 2011 to direct County staff to find ways to update the County’s horse regulations and protect and promote equestrian businesses, said the new ordinance would do just that.

Jacob said the changes would “go a long way to helping the equine industry remain a significant component of our backcountry culture.”

The County’s old system had a one-size-fits-all approach that many counties and cities use for horse stable permits, regardless of their size. Those businesses needed to get Major Use Permits approved whether they had three horses or 100 horses.

The “tiered” ordinance that the Board approved Wednesday will allow smaller stables to get cheaper “zoning verification” or administrative permits, rather than Major Use Permits, based on the number of horses the stables plan to house.

Stables will be able to have up to 10 horses per “usable” acre and up to 50 horses on five usable acres with an inexpensive zoning verification permit. Stables will be able to have up to 10 horses per usable acre, and up to 100 horses on five-to-10 usable acres, with an administrative permit. “Usable” acres mean the land has to be devoted just to horses. A one-acre parcel of land with a house on it would not have a full “usable” acre.

Large stables with unlimited numbers of horses will still need to get Major Use Permits approved.

Planning & Development Services officials said the new ordinance also includes a number of management requirements, developed in consultation with other County departments and equestrian stakeholders, to make sure stables are good neighbors. Those include how to properly deal with manure, control dust and odors, handle fire protection issues and manage vectors — pests like mosquitoes that can transmit disease.

The ordinance does not apply to “horsekeeping” — private ownership of horses not used for commercial purposes. It will also not affect backcountry areas where stables are allowed without permits.

Planning & Development Services officials said Wednesday that the new rules would apply for communities in the western portion of unincorporated county, many of which County staff visited while developing the ordinance, including: Valley Center, San Marcos, Escondido, Elfin Forest, San Dieguito, Ramona, Lakeside and Sweetwater.

The department said it conducted several meetings with community groups, community planning advisory groups and equestrian groups while developing the ordinance.

 

 

 

 

Gig Conaughton is a communications specialist with the County of San Diego Communications Office. Contact