Zoning Commission to Discuss Horse Farm Application Tuesday

The Planning and Zoning Commission will discuss on Tuesday night whether to allow a horse farm to continue its operation in a residential neighborhood, an issue that has garnered petitions, animosity and confusion.

At issue is whether Free Spirit Farm LLC at 112 Pheasant Way and 1080 Avery St. should be granted a special exception for the use of an existing barn and farm for boarding and breeding horses and giving lessons - more or less as it has been under the direction of Robert and Kim Selig and their 22-year-old daughter Kelsey.

The farm has been operating in the neighborhood since 1965, Bob Selig said at the second installment of a public hearing that stretched over hours.

“We’re not changing the activities that have been going on at our farm for 50 years,” Selig said.

But neighbors of the area said they are afraid the operation will expand or that the precedent of allowing a “commercial’ operation on the property will open the door to other commercial businesses.

The commission is able to mitigate the concerns, Town Planner Michelle Lipe said, by placing conditions on the approval of the special exception. But neighbors should understand that the special exception is not a change in zone from residential to commercial. If the Seligs left and the new owner wanted to change the scope of the operation, he or she would have to get approval from the commission.

“They’re not looking for a zone change… the underlying zone would remain the same but the commission would be allowing a specific use,” Lipe said. 

It requires a specific proposal, too, and the commission is able to limit how many horses and trailers, hours of operation, whether the farm has a PA system. Selig has indicated his family is willing to work with the commission and at the public hearing neighbors testified that the Seligs have been accommodating of their requests.

The application was prompted in part because the farm sought to comply with the town’s new regulations for agriculture, approved in 2007, Selig said. Formerly, horses were allowed depending on the acreage of a property but taking into consideration new animal management practices, the town’s ordinance changed.

At the hearing in November, dozens of residents – neighbors and students of the Seligs’ told of the family’s kindness, of how well they treated both people and animals. Some told stories of children growing up around the farm and visiting the horses. One man said the Seligs had provided therapeutic riding for a sick child in his family.

Calvin Hulstein said he has lived in front of the farm for several years and has never been disturbed by its activities.

“We see no reason not to approve what essentially has been going on for years… they are wonderful neighbors and they take wonderful care of the animals of their property,” he said.

A line of residents was waiting to speak against the application, as well.

Serina Gallo, a resident of Partridge Lane, said her privacy has been encroached upon as the Seligs made changes to their property. Times have changed, too she said and farms may no longer have a place in the area.

“South Windsor was at one time considered a rural area. Now, it’s a residential town. I do not have a problem with the Seligs’ hobby… I want to preserve my family’s quality of life and property value,” she said.

Susan Bushman, who complained of seeing a road on the Seligs’ property through her kitchen window, also said she was worried about property values and quality of life.

“…I never dreamed I’d be here arguing against a commercial zoning …. it’s the name commercial that bothers me. …It was quite pleasant to see the horses and their riders going past… I still worry though what might happen if they ever moved …does it mean a commercial business in our backyard? We don’t want that." 

One issue is how many horses the family plans to keep at the farm. The application limits the number to 20, but Selig said he doesn't plan to have that many, rather it was the limit of his manure management plan. Residents said they'd like to see the number closer to 15. 

Lipe said by phone that she has been drafting possible conditions for the commission to consider if it is interested in approving the special exception.

“In the event they do choose to approve it, they can put conditions on it, safeguards to make the neighborhood feel that they’re protected too,” she said. “Our goal is to come up with a happy medium where they feel they were heard and their concerns were heard.”