Point Reyes Light - September 27, 2001
Planning commissioners kill anti-horse proposal
By Patrik Jorgensen
County planning commissioners Monday dumped a controversial proposal that would have limited horse owners to one per 12 acres or 10 per ranch, regardless of size.
County government is now updating zoning issues in the countywide plan, and restricting horses on land zoned for agriculture had been scheduled to be part of Phase 1 of the process.
The commissioners’ unanimous decision means regulating horse ownership will not be considered again for three years when Phase 2 of the updating process is scheduled.
Many horse owners applauded loudly after the decision. The crowd was, in fact, so large the commissioners had to take a five-minute recess while a temporary wall was moved in order to accommodate all those at the hearing.
The proposal to reduce the number of horses in Marin County resulted from a 1996 Planning Commission directive that planning staff should study what effect horses have on agricultural land.
A bizarre calculation
Planning staff proposed the draconian limits using what horse owners considered a bizarre calculation. A Planning Division study estimated that a 1,200-pound horse consumes 1,200 pounds of forage per month, which is what one acre of land produces. So, at least in theory, one horse would need 12 acres per year, explained planner Brian Crawford last week.
Crawford, however, acknowledged the calculations were arbitrary since horse owners use hay and grain to supplement the grass growing in pastures.
While limits were intended to protect Marin agriculture, many people at Monday’s hearing argued they would do just the opposite. Former Supervisor Gary Giacomini told commissioners zoning laws have to make sense and be flexible.
"If there’s not agriculture on the land, you can’t just zone it for the hell of it," he said, adding that without horses, agricultural land would lose its financial importance and the threat of commercial development would soon follow.
"The horses give the land a chance," he said to cheers from the audience.
‘Horses Help Ag’
Members of Marin Horse Council, the California State Horsemen’s Association, and others displayed signs and fluorescent stickers that said: "Horses Help Ag" and "Save Marin’s Horses." Kim Vogee, a member of the Novato Horsemen’s Ranch in Indian Valley, carried a poster illustrated with horses and reading: "United We Stand."
So strong was audience members’ commitment that most stuck around when Civic Center was cleared for an hour during the hearing because of a bomb threat.
The biggest problem with county zoning laws, the crowd agreed, was the definition of agriculture as food and fiber, which does not include horses. Connie Berto of the Marin Horse Council argued that horses could, in fact, be considered agriculture.
Eating horsemeat
She told the commissioners that the US already sells horse meat to Europe and Japan and that "horses are considered cattle by California statute."
Giacomini reiterated that the US government defines horses as agriculture and so does the State of California.
The futility of attempting to limit horses became obvious when Commissioner Ray Buddie said the county’s current definition of agriculture never did make sense to him. He added that equestrian activities "are a good use of land in West Marin."
In the end, the strongest argument was that horses actually help sustain agriculture. Berto argued that keeping horses protects unused land from development and provides ranchers with "a supplemental income."
Norm Sims, president of the California State Horsemen’s Association, said that the horse industry contributes $2.8 billion annually to California’s economy, and it supplies the state with 23,000 jobs.
Following the public testimony, Crawford of the county Planning Division suggested to the commissioners that they "defer taking any action on the 1996 proposal" until they can review it further.
Get someone knowledgeable
Gayle Murphy of Fairfax suggested that commissioners have the Planning Division appoint someone knowledgeable about horses to take part in the review.
Crawford afterwards said that the Planning Division "will be considering a number of changes [to the proposed regulations], and we will be consulting with the Marin Horse Council, among others."