Supervisors Heed Beefs of Residents, Limit Whelan Ranch Dairy Herd Size

Prompted by Oceanside residents who live near the Whelan Ranch, San Diego County supervisors Wednesday clamped a strict limit on the number of dairy cattle allowed on the property.

Board members voted unanimously to limit the ranch to 385 head despite a warning from the Whelan estate’s attorney that the size of the herd might prove unprofitable.

Other dairy farmers with herds larger than allowed under county zoning regulations will be permitted to keep the number of cattle that were on their property as of Nov. 1, 1986, the board decided in amending its dairy herd regulations.

Under the amendment approved Wednesday, non-conforming dairy farmers will have to seek a county permit to increase the size of their herds or reduce the acreage of their dairy operations without a proportional reduction in herd size.

Notification Required

Such permits require notification of surrounding property owners and public hearings, county planners said.

Supervisor John MacDonald proposed the compromise, which permits most of the non-conforming dairies to conduct business as usual, requiring only Whelan operations to cut back its herd from an estimated 498.

The dairies covered by the action and herd sizes permitted are Ed Brower, Rockwood Road, Escondido area, 119.5 acres, 750 head; Arie DeRaadt, Harmony Grove Road, 30.66 acres, 650 head; Eden Vale Dairy, Harmony Grove Road, 50.61 acres, 550 head; John Konyn, Valley Center Road, 70 acres, 1,140 head; Simon Vander Woude, Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos area, 39 acres, 400 head; Gerritt Van Ommering, Willow Road, Lakeside, 125 acres, 1,400 head; Ellen Whelan Estate, North River Road, Oceanside, 323.7 acres, 385 head.

MacDonald also won approval from board members for a study on possible reinstatement of dairy farm status to the Pete Verboom property on Betsworth Road in Valley Center.

MacDonald, a former Oceanside councilman, reviewed the history of the Whelan Ranch and its former owner, Ellen Whelan, who, he said, wanted the property to become a refuge for waterfowl and wild animals after her death in December, 1985.

Instead, MacDonald said, “the heirs moved on a considerable herd” of dairy cattle “without authorization from anybody.” The supervisor said he became aware of the problems because of “literally hundreds of calls” from Oceanside residents living in homes surrounding the Whelan property in northeastern Oceanside near Camp Pendleton.

The dairy operations created unpleasant odors and contaminated Whelan Lake and nearby waterways, “creating a tremendous impact on over 5,000 people,” MacDonald said, noting that most of the residents lived on former Whelan property sold off to developers after Ellen Whelan’s death.

Attorney William Schwartz, speaking for the Whelan heirs, admitted that more than 1,200 head of cattle had been on the ranch at one point in 1986, but argued that the number has been reduced to fewer than 500.