Douglas County to consider horse-boarding permit for Out of the Way Farms

Douglas County is scheduled to consider a permit for Out of the Way Farms to board and train horses, including offering riding lessons, at its existing facility on South State Highway 83. The Planning Commission is set to hear the application at 6 p.m. Oct. 5, followed by a Board of County Commissioners hearing listed for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 27. The Planning Commission agenda confirms the Oct. 5 hearing.

The application covers 55.49 acres of a 99.17-acre parcel at 6685 S. State Highway 83. The county staff report says the farm has operated since about 2003 without the required land-use review. County staff's analysis says the application meets applicable review standards, but the permit has not been approved.

Arenas, horse runs, sheds and pastures are already on the property, and the application proposes no new structures. If approved, the operation would have to follow its management plan and would be subject to annual inspections. The plan sets visitor and lesson hours from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with lessons planned six days a week, and calls for manure removal four times a month. The applicant estimates the operation would generate three to nine vehicle trips a day.

County referrals raised issues including highway access, septic-field placement and manure handling. The staff report says the applicant obtained an updated access permit and addressed the cited site-plan concerns. It also says no comments were received from adjacent property owners or the public. Separately, Cherry Valley Community Action LLC told the county it had no objection and anticipated minimal neighborhood impact.

If the Planning Commission finds the standards are met, the staff report says it should consider requiring technical corrections to the final plan exhibit before the county approves the record copy. The application materials differ on whether the plan's 51-horse maximum includes horses owned by the property owner.