Re: Zoning for horses can work FOR you!

[connie B Berto <cberto@juno.com>]

Maryben,   allowing horse stabling on residential property is properly
covered by zoning ordinances specific to the jurisdiction.   I think that
the proposal you mentioned, only 2 horses/acre (any slope requirements?),
 is overly restrictive.    For instance:   I live in the Sleepy Hollow
area in Marin.   Our zoning ordinance  (No. 784, 1955) was one of the
earliest  to specifically allow horses on residential lots provided that
any running area is at least 40 ft. from any dwelling (garages don't
count), and that usually works out to be a minimum half-acre parcel.  
Barn structures have setbacks (10 ft. or, corners, 15 ft.) and height
limits, but fencing can be on the property line provided the 40 ft. rule
is observed.    Oddly enough, back then they didn't think to put an upper
limit on the number of horses per lot.    (I might add I have been the
Zoning Chairman for our Homes Assn. for 15 years and I hear my nickname
is the Iron Duchess.) 
    In the mid-1970's I served on a committee that wrote a zoning
ordinance for unincorporated areas of Marin County (No. 2144, 1975).  
Horsekeeping questions had been bounced from one county agency to
another, none of whom knew anything about horses.    One Public Works man
 thought horses were kept on concrete and fed in stanchions!        No.
2144  puts the distance from dwellings at 30 feet.  It specifies minimum
lot size (15,000 ft.) and maximum numbers of horses and ties this into
the slope of the property.   A  lot of 1% to 15% slope can have up to
seven horses;  16% to 25% slope needs additional 1K square footage/per %
of slope.  Slopes of over 25% need approved erosion and drainage plans. 
No horses are permitted on slopes exceeding 50%.  Structural setback
distances and basic care (manure removal, water) are also written in.  
Non-conforming uses must seek a permit.   The Board of Supervisors passed
this unanimously,  just  as we wrote it.    Neither 784 nor 2144 have
been modified since they were enacted, and they are working fine.  Ten of
the 11 townships in Marin have their own horsekeeping ordinances.
    The thing is, having satisfied the basic conditions, we don't need a
variance or a permit to keep our horses.   We pay no annual fees.   We
are protected by having a regulation that legally permits us to keep 
horse(s) on our own land.   (If you kept  animals before these ordinances
were passed you are deemed to be conforming.)  This is important when
bringing a horse into the property you just bought and next-door neighbor
starts grumbling about flies, dust, noise, et cetera.   There might  be
other considerations, i.e.  if  a creek runs through the lot,  but  any
responsible horseowner would want to protect the environment anyway.  
   If anyone would like a copy of the ordinances give me your fax no. or
snailmail address and I'll send it around.   Regards,  Connie B
      
    

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