This misinformation is emanating from a small, but raucous group of resident and non-resident equestrians. And, unfortunately, this has made it very difficult for other homeowners living in the village to determine what to believe amidst all of the noise, so we decided to do some factual research to set the record straight.
We reviewed meeting minutes from Village archives dating back to 1957 in search of some facts and discovered the following information excerpted from the minutes of an April 25, 1960, meeting of the Board of Trustees (seen here):
“The President [Andrew Dallstream] advised the board that he and Mr. Harold Smith, Trustee, had visited the Countryside Riding School on Bateman and Penny Roads, had examined their facilities and discussed the operation of the school with the manager. After a resume of the importance of horsemanship to the community, the President asked for a report from the Zoning Committee.
[Trustees] Mr. Delmar Olson and Mr. Stresen-Reuter then reported they had also visited the school and had found the facilities adequate, the plan of operation satisfactory, but that it was a riding school for profit. Mr. Canby [Village Attorney] advised that it is his considered opinion that a school for profit is not an agricultural pursuit and that therefore the Countryside Riding School is in violation of the zoning ordinance of Barrington Hills.
Mr. Stresen-Reuter asked Mr. Albert F. Moore and Dr. M. J. Thompson, whose properties are near the school, to express their views. Both Mr. Moore and Dr. Thompson said they are against any violation of the zoning ordinance. Mr. Grigsby, chairman of the Zoning Committee, asked them to submit a formal written complaint, at which time the Village will advise the Countryside Riding School that they are in violation of the village statutes and order them to cease and desist.”
Two months later, the village attorney reported, “… the Countryside Riding School was no longer in operation,” during the June 19, 1960 Board of Trustees meeting.
But how could this happen way back then? Couldn’t equestrians do nearly anything they wished as some residents are being led to believe today?
After all, this was 1960 Barrington Hills! There were only 1,726 residents at that time and much of Barrington Hills land was still being farmed, so neighbors were likely distant from the school. And Andrew Dallstream (“Andy” as the SOS Party referred to him) supposedly founded Barrington Hills to be, “Dedicated to an equestrian lifestyle,” (according to a post on the SOS Party’s Facebook page in April 2015), so what changed his mind?
Clearly the answer is that the founders of Barrington Hills did not approve of commercial businesses in our village, and considering their decision regarding the aforementioned riding school in 1960, they would not have agreed with anything remotely similar to the current Anderson/LeCompte Commercial Horse Boarding Ordinance – regardless of the acknowledged “importance of horsemanship to the community”.
Some may wonder if we’re advocating the closure of existing commercial boarding and training facilities in the Village based on this historical precedent, and the answer is NO. Sometime after 1960, someone “left the barn door open” to large-scale boarding. However, we do fervently believe the Village should regulate any proposed new facilities.
-The Observer