No agenda has been posted yet, however the two text amendment proposals to be considered are currently available on the village website.
It should come as no surprise to most residents that both proposals are extremely liberal considering the two amendment proposal authors – the Riding Club of Barrington Hills (RCBH) and Dr. Benjamin LeCompte (Oakwood Farm).
The fact that a majority of Zoning Board members belong to the RCBH raises some serious ethical issues as was recently documented in an Observer editorial titled “Conflicted.” These conflicts will likely cloud any reasonable objectivity in the deliberation of the RCBH amendment proposal.
And in the case of Oakwood Farm, a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision deemed this boarding operation to be in violation of our Village code, and there is likely going to be continuing litigation despite a recent request for appeal filed with the Illinois Supreme Court.
Furthermore, given that Oakwood Farm is seeking amendments that would be retroactive to 2006, before the zoning violations occurred, it is highly questionable whether this proposal should be considered under the circumstances. After all, our Village has incurred significant legal expenses over the years related to this boarding operation including defending past and some present Zoning Board members in a lawsuit filed by the property owner against the Village.
Both amendments request that the boarding of horses, regardless of number, be addressed in agricultural zoning, not residential as it is now. Both also request that boarding businesses be exempt from the Home Occupation Ordinance (HOO), thus freeing them from almost all HOO limitations on operations such as the number of employees or customers/guests on the boarding property at any given time.
The RCBH proposed amendment would allow property owners and their employees to operate between the hours 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM seven days a week. Boarding customers would only be allowed to use facilities from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (or dusk) seven days a week, and without the HOO provisions, there is no limit to the number of employees or customers and thus, no limit to the number of vehicles or trailers present at any time.
As for the number of horses allowed at a boarding business, the RCBH proposal recommends, “two horses per acre, plus one horse per each boxed stall.” A copy of the RCBH proposed text amendment application can be downloaded here.
The Oakwood Farm proposal differs slightly in wording and terms. It calls for operating hours from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM seven days a week for an unspecified number of boarding customers and anyone involved in facilitating the boarding and training of horses. Outdoor riding and training is restricted to 8:00 AM to 8:30 PM for anyone other than the immediate family.
Regarding allowed horse population, Oakwood recommends pasture boarding of up to one horse per acre and two horses per acre if they are stable boarded. A copy of the Oakwood proposed text amendment can be downloaded here.
There are additional items to be considered in these proposals, however those illustrated so far are the ones that jumped off of the pages and are likely of the highest interest to all Village residents.
The Observer has long advocated that horse boarding has no place under the HOO. However, without most of the restrictions embedded within it to provide “peace, quiet and domestic tranquility within all residential neighborhoods,” in it to protect adjacent neighbors and neighborhoods from boarding businesses, these two new proposals may render most residents incapable of having much of any say in present or future neighboring property use.
The Observer will likely have more to say on this very important subject before the July 21 hearing, but in the meantime, we encourage readers to read the proposed amendments and plan to attend the public hearing on July 21st.
– The Observer