Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/06/2001

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Observations: The applicant moved to the City of Ramsey in 1984 and has been maintaining horses on the property since then. The surrounding parcels range in size from 2.5-acres to approximately 1 O-acres and most property owners in the area own horses. The horse ordinance that was in effect in 1984 when the applicant moved to the City of Ramsey required residents to own three acres per horse. The horse ordinance was rewritten in 1987 and currently states that on parcels between 1.5 and less than 3 acres two horses are permitted with a conditional use permit. The leased pasture area is located to the south of the applicant's property (see site location map). The applicant has stated that there is a fenced path leading from her homestead to the leased pasture area to allow the horses the option to roam between the two properties. City Code does not address how leased property affects the number of horses a property owner is permitted to maintain. It is Staff's understanding that Ms. Dahlheimer would like to maintain a total of four horses on 6.5 acres, this includes the owned and leased property. The current Horse Ordinance would allow 9 horses on a 6.5-acre parcel if the applicant owned the entire acreage. The Horse Board is currently reviewing the Horse Ordinance and is proposing to amend the ordinance to allow two horses on three acres with one additional horse for every additional acre (the current ordinance allows an additional horse per ½ acre). The proposed Horse Ordinance amendment would allow 5 horses on a 6.5-acre parcel. Greg Matuseski has submitted a letter stating that he is indeed renting 4+ acres to the Dahlheimer's and does not currently own any horses on his 10-acre parcel. In the event Mr. Matuseski choose to have horses, the number of horses he could have would be based on six (6) acres if he is still leasing four (4) of his ten (10) acres to the Dahlheimers. The Applicant has stated that the manure produced by the horses is dispersed to surrounding neighbors and spread on the subject property. City Code requires barns to be set back a distance of 50 feet from dwellings and 75 feet from property lines. The 2.5- acre parcel contains a 30-foot by 55-foot (1,650 square feet) barn that is located approximately 64-feet from the nearest property line. The applicant also has a round pen area for the horses on the 2.5-acre parcel. The Horse Board met on January 17, 2001 to review the request for a conditional use permit for four horses on less than three acres.