Tiered Equine Ordinance Will Go to Board of Supervisors

After hearing the Equine Policy and Ordinance Development (POD), the County Planning Commission recommended approval of the Tiered Equine Ordinance to the County Board of Supervisors (BOS).

According to the county, the ordinance was developed through "extensive work with stakeholders in the equine community to investigate ordinance options that would protect and promote equine operations." 

The project proposes to update the County of San Diego’s Zoning Ordinance with a tiered system of permitting that eliminates the need for a discretionary permit for some horse stables depending on the numbers of horses and the size of usable acreage for a stable.

Four tiers of County’s proposal:

• 3 horses (boarding only) not owned by property (as opposed to having a permit to house them): no fee/permit.
• 10 horses per acre, up to 50 horses: zoning verification permit, $1000. May take up to four weeks to receive
• 10 horses per acre, more than 50 up to 100: administrative permit, $10,000. Subject to CEQA, takes 3-6 months to obtain. Stops at planning commission.
• More than 100 horses, more than 10 horses per acre: major use permit, $15,000 to submit with a total cost of $20-$30K. Could take 10-12 year to obtain.