Poll: Horse-Keeping Rules in RHE

Members of the Peninsula's equestrian community have closely followed discussions by members recently regarding changes to horse-keeping rules in the city.

The council has held public hearings since August on the proposed amendments to the city's horse overlay zone, including permitted number of horses. Council members and residents have discussed the keeping of stallions, the number of horses permitted on property, and minimum setback requirements of horse-keeping areas.

Residents have spoken out against proposals to codify recent council policy which would prohibit a resident who wishes to have more than four horses from receiving a special use permit if any of the horses is owned by someone else.

Some residents disagreed with "discrimination" against boarding at the , others cited instances in the city in which they said it's a real issue.

Council members agreed that eliminating business-like boarding at residences would be very difficult.

Mayor Steven Zuckerman considered setting an absolute limit to the number of permitted horses.

"I can think of no other way to control the boarding situation," he said.

The council will review amendments and hold a public hearing scheduled for the next city council meeting Sept. 27.

We invite you to weigh in on the boarding discussion here on Patch by taking our poll: