Hold Your Horses : Mounting Hurdles Put Reins on Plans for Olivenhain Stables

With weathered stables and whitewashed wooden fences to guide its gently sloping country roads, Olivenhain looks like a slice of Kentucky horse country right here in North San Diego County.

Per capita, locals claim, the neighborhood has as many horse owners as just about anywhere. Located in a rural eastern corner of Encinitas, Olivenhain’s contribution to the city seal is the countenance of a horse that dominates other images of surf, sun, sea gull and poinsettia.

But an ill-fated proposal to build a commercial breeding and training stable has kicked off a bronco-bucking, calf-roping controversy in horse country.

At its heart is a 22-acre parcel of land amid the flood plain of winding Escondido Creek--an area city officials say is sensitive to any type of development, much less a busy horse-riding farm.

In light of recent floodwaters that have ripped through the area, city planners say that anything built along the predictable flood plain--including horse shelters, a barn, corrals or fences--could be swept away into nearby San Elijo Lagoon, causing serious pollution problems.

So, to guard against any such environmental catastrophes, officials required several studies before building could begin on the property.

But two Polish-born brothers and their horse-crazy attorney partner suspect something more sinister afoot in the neighborhood of rambling horse properties.

More than just wielding a heavy-handed government gavel, they allege, city officials have purposely sabotaged their efforts to develop a breeding stable for a few dozen horses.

Greg Kirkorowicz, an Orange County physician who purchased the property in 1989, filed a $4.5-million lawsuit against the city, claiming it has set unfair and illegal guidelines for his use of the land because it wants the land for itself.

In the suit, filed in January, Kirkorowicz claims that he was assured by city officials that there would be no problem with his plans for the land, even before buying the property, and that officials have since reneged on those assurances.

Chris Kirkorowicz, a 27-year-old Olivenhain resident who helps manage the parcel, said vindictive city staffers have discriminated against the brothers because of their accents and national origin, setting roadblocks that would have been removed “for anyone born in the good old U.S. of A.”

City officials dismiss as “preposterous” any suggestion that they lust for the land. They say the brothers and their lawyer fail to understand that any potential builder--”black, white, American-born or Martian-born,” according to one city planner--must heed the same strict environmental requirements.

Waged over the three years since Kirkorowicz first filed for permits, the brouhaha has taken all the twists and turns of a Saturday afternoon rodeo ride, leaving horse-country locals scratching their heads.

Some folks say, however, that a horse tug-of-war such as this was bound to break out sooner or later--a symptom of the stress brought on as the once-verdant hillsides are mowed down for housing developments and commercial enterprises.

August Anderson bristles at any suggestions that she’s a city slicker chasing a cowboy dream. She has trained horses since she was a child growing up on a South Dakota ranch, she said.

Not only is she the brothers’ attorney, she also plans to take on the horse-training duties at the facility once it gets over its last hurdle.

She is shocked at the reaction to a business tailor-made for Olivenhain.

“Horses play a substantial role in Olivenhain’s history,” she said. “They have become the symbol of the place. You would think that they would have welcomed us with open arms. But that didn’t happen.”

Encinitas Mayor Maura Wiegand and several City Council members declined to discuss the proposed horse farm.

But Patrick Murphy, the city community development director, said the applicants have confused a simple issue of securing flood plain permits.

“This is not and has never been a horse issue,” he said. “The key is building on a flood plain. But somewhere along the line, they became frustrated with the process and resorted to making some ridiculous claims.”

Anderson said the city has continually changed the rules on the type of permit required to build several portable horse shelters on the land--causing the brothers a landslide of bogus expenses and repeat paperwork.

Three years after the process began, both sides agree that the Kirkorowiczes’ permit applications are finally in order. But officials said the brothers still owe $12,000 in processing and investigative fees--a bill they refuse to pay.

In the meantime, the city has ordered the Kirkorowiczes to remove all horses from the property. They have steadfastly ignored the order.

“To tell you the truth, both my brother and I are sick to death of what is going on in this city,” said Chris Kirkorowicz, holding the reins of Rasputin, a thoroughbred stallion and one of eight horses that at various times grazed on the property.

“Frankly, he doesn’t trust these people any more. Once he pays this money, who’s to say they’re not going to ask for more? When will it ever stop?”

Greg Kirkorowicz, an Irvine neurologist with homes in San Diego and Orange counties, did not return telephone calls.

However, Anderson and Chris Kirkorowicz said the physician paid about $400,000 for the property where about 50 head of cattle had previously roamed between Escondido Creek and nearby two-lane Manchester Avenue.

While they began the permit process, Anderson said, the group built a fence along the road and grazed several horses there. She said they had been led to believe no permits were required for those alterations. They also trucked in some sand to construct a ring on which to pace the horses.

Within weeks of their arrival, they said, neighbors began to complain to city officials that no permits had been secured for the work--setting off a chain of events that soon turned ugly.

The brothers were cited for illegal grading, and for development in the flood plain without proper permits, Anderson said. Officials then began to regularly visit the property, he said.

“For a while, we couldn’t even come down to the property without being harassed by some police officer or code enforcement guy,” Anderson said. “They were trying to bully us off the property.”

Over the ensuing months, the brothers were handed more than a dozen citations for illegal brush removal, grading and installing an electric fence, culminating in the city’s order last fall for them to remove the horses.

Meanwhile, Anderson said, other horse stables sit within sight of their land. And there are numerous cattle owned by neighbors that trample the city’s supposedly precious flood plain--while their horses are taboo.

City staffer Murphy said the other stables along the flood plain were built before Encinitas incorporated in 1986, and, therefore, did not undergo the same scrutiny.

“These people don’t seem to understand that the flood will come and could wash down their fences and corrals,” he said. “And when those things wash into the nearby San Elijo Lagoon they become pollutants and an environmental hazard. That’s what we’re trying to protect against.”

Murphy acknowledged that there had been some heated exchanges with the brothers but said that did not influence the city’s stand on the project.

“You might get mad at somebody one day, but the following morning, there are no grudges,” he said. “In this type of government, telling people how they can and cannot use their own land, you deal with a lot of angry people. You learn to live with them.”

Neighbors said they are caught in the cross-fire of the controversy.

“Some folks are afraid the place is going to get out of hand, but I live by the golden rule to live and let live,” neighbor Kenneth Denk said.

“I have no problem with these people. I would rather have horses in there than a lot of other things.”

Denk’s cousin, Harley, disagreed.

“The people around here just don’t want all the commotion of a public riding facility,” he said. “They didn’t want the smells, the flies and all that horse manure washing into the lagoon. So they went to the city, using every ploy they could to keep these people in check.”