Horse Regulation Proposals Draw An Emotional Response At Hearing

By Andrew Gorosko

Following an emotional November 1 public hearing, Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members are considering a range of zoning rules on horse keeping proposed by the Newtown Bridle Lands Association, Inc, (NBLA).

The NBLA is a local nonprofit corporation that preserves horse trails and open space areas. The zoning regulations proposed by the group concern horse boarding; the commercial boarding of horses for trade and sale; horse manure control; horse exercise space requirements; the operation of nonprofit equine clubs; the construction of indoor horse arenas and outdoor horse rings under the special exception provisions of the zoning regulations; horseback lessons, and the operation of horse day camps, among other equine topics.

The P&Z’s November 1 public hearing was the continuation of an October 18 public hearing on the zoning rule proposals. At the November 1 session, NBLA submitted revisions to the rule changes that had been discussed October 18.

At the start of the November 1 hearing, Robert Sapienza of 6 Stone Gate Drive, Sandy Hook, had submitted three pages of questions that he wanted P&Z to address before deciding whether to add NBLA’s proposed rules to the town’s zoning regulations. Mr Sapienza urged that P&Z form an ad hoc panel, which would advise P&Z on the formulation of equine regulations.

Mr Sapienza was among a group of Stone Gate Drive area residents who are staunch opponents of horse activities at Zoar Ridge Stables, a commercial horse farm at nearby Morgan Drive.

Following protracted conflict between the stable’s owners and its neighbors over the level of horse activities at the 30-acre farm, P&Z last spring granted the stable approvals for its horse operations. Some of the stable’s neighbors had complained that their proximity to the facility posed property value and quality-of-life issues.

As the November 1 hearing concluded and it became apparent that P&Z would not be providing Mr Sapienza with answers that night to his detailed questions on the NBLA’s horse rule proposals, he approached P&Z’s meeting table at the town land use office at Canaan House at Fairfield Hills.

He pointedly told P&Z Chairman Daniel Fogliano that he wanted answers to his questions, asking why P&Z would refuse to answer his questions.

Apparently surprised by the intensity of Mr Sapienza’s demand for answers, Mr Fogliano informed him that the public hearing had been closed and discussion was over.

Mr Fogliano said that Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker might provide answers to his questions in writing.

Mr Sapienza moved closer to the meeting table.

Apparently unimpressed by Mr Sapienza’s immediate demands, Mr Fogliano then left the meeting room.

Mr Sapienza then continued to press other P&Z members for answers to his detailed questions.

The Stone Gate Drive resident then pointedly told P&Z members that he was not satisfied and he wanted answers to the questions that have economic implications for his neighborhood.

 Mr Sapienza told P&Z members that the town has Board of Ethics to investigate complaints against public officials. He eventually left the meeting room.

A large group of people, which had attended the hearing to speak in favor of the NBLA’s horse rules, and others who questioned those rules, then milled about for a time in a nearby corridor and later went outdoors, where they congregated on the lawn in front of Canaan House, as P&Z proceeded with other land use applications inside the building.

Public Hearing

Earlier, during the hearing on the NBLA’s horse regulation proposals, resident Laura Lerman of 55 Main Street told P&Z members of local horse people’s love for things equine. Newtown serves as the bedrock of the horse community in Fairfield County, she said.

Ms Lerman pointed out that when the town’s Grade 5/6 School opens for use, there will be no horses attending classes there. In past comments, Ms Lerman has stressed that using land for equine purposes is economically preferable to allowing that land to be residentially developed and later populated with schoolchildren, who require costly public education.

Resident James Palczynski of 12 Taunton Hill Road, who moved to town about 18 months ago, purchased an antique home in a pastoral setting that has suitable property for horse keeping. He said he is upgrading the property. Local horse ownership is a positive aspect of the town, he said.

Dee Davis of 42 Orchard Hill Road urged P&Z members to protect the town as a location for equine activity.

Resident Jamie Morris of 92 Huntingtown Road told P&Z members that aspects of the proposed horse regulations would effectively bypass the P&Z’s special exception process, under which the agency closely reviews proposed land uses. Mr Morris called for adequate safeguards to be in place for horse-related land uses.

NBLA President Cindy Miller of Parmalee Hill Road described a set of regulations for horse manure handling, based on various setback distances. The use of such setbacks is the simplest way to enforce horse manure management rules, she said.

The composting of manure must be based upon the specifics of a given horse property, she said.

The NBLA proposes that stored manure be set back at least 100 feet from a water well, stream, or watercourse and that manure be set back at least 50 feet from a property line or a dwelling, among other provisions. Each horse kept on a property would need at least 2,500 square feet of exercise space, under the NBLA proposal.

Ms Miller suggested that P&Z create an advisory council to help it with its regulation of horse-related activities.

Ms Miller said horse farming has existed locally for many years with relatively little conflict between equestrians and people not involved with horses, Ms Miller said. During the past several years, however, conflicts have sometimes arisen, as the town has become more suburbanized, with some newer residents viewing the equine uses of their neighborhoods as intrusive.

NBLA Attorney

Attorney Chris Leonard, representing the NBLA, said the use of a setback-based model for horse manure handling could prove a workable way to regulate the waste material. A horse property would either meet the applicable setback rules, or would have its horse manure carted off, he said.

Mr Leonard asked that if P&Z should reject the NBLA’s proposed horse keeping regulations, that it explicitly state why the regulations were rejected, so that the group could then formulate revised rules that are more acceptable.

The lawyer also asked that if P&Z denies the horse rule proposals, that it deny them “without prejudice,” so that the NBLA could return to P&Z with reformulated proposals before the one-year waiting period, which is required when a proposal is denied “with prejudice.”

The goal is to develop a workable set of horse regulations, he said. The revisions, which the NBLA has already made to its proposed rules, are based on comments that were made at the October 18 public hearing, he said.

Ms Miller said the NBLA especially wants to develop a set of workable regulations applicable to horse boarding. There are numerous local horse boarding facilities, she said.

 Zoning regulations are not needed for someone who keeps a personal horse in his or her backyard, she added. The keeping of such horses is an expensive, labor intensive, and self-regulating activity, she said.

As the public hearing closed, Zoning Enforcement Officer Gary Frenette pointedly told P&Z members that neither he nor Land Use Enforcement Officer Harry Fitzgerald want to become involved in horse manure regulation on equine properties.

P&Z members are expected to discuss and act on the proposed horse keeping regulations at an upcoming P&Z session.