By Curt Prendergast | Nogales International
In the face of a wave of opposition, the county nixed a proposal from residents to make it easier to own horses.
An informal proposal to allow residents to keep horses on three-quarters of an acre, rather than three acres, charged up more than 50 county residents at the Feb. 27 meeting of the County Planning and Zoning Commission, a month after a dozen people urged the commission to change the rules.
At the commission’s Jan. 23 meeting, residents cited the area’s open-range tradition and the benefits of horse ownership as reasons to change the acreage rules, but opponents pointed to the increasingly residential nature of areas like Rio Rico, as well as the smell and property damage that horses can bring to residential areas.
On Feb. 27, the seven-member commission unanimously voted to take no action on the issue other than to direct staff to find ways to better enforce the existing zoning laws. They cited a lack of manpower at the county and more than 50 cases of people currently violating those regulations.
If you’d like to discuss equine law, contact Adam Trenk, atrenk@roselawgroup.com
