The meeting began with swearing in of three new members, one of whom has a degree in animal science, which we believe will be helpful to the commission.
The minutes from the last Equestrian Commission meeting held on August 1, 2014 were then briefly discussed and approved unanimously.
Once again, we must express our concern that certain changes to the LeCompte Horse Boarding Amendment recommended by the Equestrian Commission over a year ago were never discussed at either the Zoning or Village Board meetings, particularly the exclusion of the retroactivity clause seen below:
Considering the Village Board meets later this month to hear public comment regarding whether or not to void the Commercial Horse Boarding Ordinance passed earlier this year, which is based on the LeCompte proposal reviewed by the Equestrian Commission, it would seem important to know why the Equestrian Commission’s recommendations were ignored.
Minutes from past Equestrian Commission meetings are not published on the Village website (as seen here), so the August 2014 draft minutes (from the meeting’s ePacket) which were approved last week with no edits can be viewed here.
The commission members then began discussing what their roles and responsibilities should be going forward. One near-term action will be coordinating a training session for Village police officers and others invited from surrounding municipalities on handling horses who manage to get loose.
Early next month, a training session will be facilitated by the Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society (HARPS). Commissioners also discussed creating a list of equine-knowledgeable residents for the police department to contact for assistance in handling any stray horses.
Discussion then moved to improving communications with the new stewards of Horizon Farms — the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Trustee Michelle Maison stated she was working on that matter and would be getting back to the commission members.
Members remarked Horizon Farms and the new polo field being constructed to the south across Algonquin Road to the south are both attractive to prospective home buyers. The chair went on to state an acquaintance of hers has two polo playing prospective home buyers who are considering moving to Barrington Hills specifically because of the new polo field currently being built (her remark can be heard here).
The link to the edited recording menu from the meeting can be accessed here.
The Equestrian Commission meets quarterly, and their next scheduled meeting is on December 7, 2015.