Ranchers Vow to Fight a Proposed Ordinance to Limit Animals : Legislation: Planners want to restrict the number of cows, horses and other critters on large lots. No way, reply the owners of the county’s largest equestrian center.

In 1990, Jamie and Kay Skeeters sank $2.3 million into a showplace ranch home and the largest equestrian center in the Ojai Valley.

They built an impressive barn, a riding ring and boarding facilities for as many as 120 horses, though only 80 are being kept this winter.

Despite the look of prosperity at Ojai Valley Farms, the family--and other ranchers like them throughout Ventura County--are fearful their investment in a rural way of life may soon be worth a lot less.

That’s because the county, in an effort to close loopholes in a decade-old ordinance, has proposed limiting the number of animals--from ostriches to cows--allowed on large parcels of land.

Ranchers say such a restriction would cut deeply into their business and hurt the county’s reputation as friendly to horses. But county planners say the rules are needed to protect landowners from having a hog farm or feed lot move in next door.

Backed by the political clout of the Ventura County Farm Bureau and the Ventura County Cattlemen’s Assn., a group of ranchers has persuaded the Board of Supervisors to postpone voting on the issue until the spring. And they vow to fight the ordinance in court if it is approved.

“Aside from the fact that my whole life savings is in this place, it’s a lifestyle now,” said Kay Skeeters, one of the most vocal opponents. “And it’s not one that could be easily altered or terminated.”

Under the current rules, landowners in the county’s unincorporated area may keep an unlimited number of animals if they have more than 10 acres of property zoned for farming, ranching or open space.

County planners say that the policy has created problems when businesses with large numbers of animals on relatively small tracts open near populated areas.

For instance, neighbors of a feed lot on Taylor Ranch--which kept tens of thousands of cattle in pens--complained of odors, flies, dust and ground water contamination, said county planner Carl Morehouse. The lot is now closed.

Similar problems arose with a feed lot in Somis and a dairy in El Rio.

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To bolster their case for tighter restrictions, planners point to a man who kept 800 ostriches and emus on his Chatsworth estate in a gated residential community. After a storm of protest from neighbors, a Los Angeles County zoning panel in October ordered the fowl removed.

“Would you want this kind of operation right next to your property?” Morehouse asked, holding up a newspaper article about neighborhood outrage over the ostrich farm.

“All we’re trying to do is establish a limit where there currently is no limit,” he said.

Much of the furor over the current proposal, Morehouse said, is based on misinformation. While the new ordinance would not significantly change the rules for small landowners, many may be in violation of the current rules and not know it, he said. They would have a year to make changes or seek a special permit from the county.

Because of the confusion, county planners last week asked the Board of Supervisors to postpone the issue until further meetings can be held with landowners and agricultural groups. The first workshop is scheduled for Jan. 4 at the government center.

“This will give us more time to work with the representative groups,” he said.

Planners do not know exactly how many properties would be affected by the change. The loudest opposition has come from the Ojai Valley, but Morehouse said he has also received phone calls from landowners in the east end of the county.

Pat Garrison, whose family owns a 40-acre ranch in Hidden Valley near Thousand Oaks, said she could sympathize with those opposed to the ordinance. But at the same time, she said, the limits do not seem unreasonable.

“I would never have 174 horses on this amount of land. That’s absurd,” she said.

The most outspoken critics argue that the current rules should be left intact because feed lots and dairies no longer exist in the county. Such operations are not likely to return, they say, because there are no longer enough cattle in the county to support them.

“Our position is, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ ” said Jamie Skeeters.

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If approved, the ordinance would use a formula to determine the number of horses, cows and other animals allowed on land zoned for open space and agricultural use.

One animal unit--the equivalent of a cow, a horse, an ostrich, two pigs, five sheep or 10 chickens--could be kept on every 10,000 square feet of land. Forty-six animal units would be allowed on 10 acres, and 87 on 20 acres.

On ranches bigger than 10 acres, additional horses could be kept if a separate stall is provided for each animal, manure is removed daily and dirt lots are watered to keep dust down. Under those conditions, one horse would be allowed for every 7,000 square feet of land. That equates to 65 horses on 10 acres and 124 horses on 20 acres.

Landowners would have one year to comply with the ordinance or apply for a special permit that would have to be approved by the Planning Commission.

Under those rules, the Skeeterses would be allowed to keep 74 horses and cows on their 12-acre property--half the number they had in mind when building the ranch.

Since learning of the county’s plans, however, the couple have bought an adjoining 12 acres, which would give them the right to keep a total of 148 horses and cows.

Joel Kalish, owner of Rancho Royale near Ojai, said the proposed ordinance would force him to give up at least a dozen of the 130 horses he now boards or pay a $770 application fee for the permit.

Like many ranchers, Kalish sees the need for controls on animals kept in more populated areas, but believes exceptions should be made for rural areas.

“If I had 500 horses here, nobody would complain,” he said. “I’m surrounded by nothing in front of me, cattle behind me and goats and chickens on the other side.”

Over the past three years, the county Planning Department has received about 1,000 complaints concerning animals in Ventura County.

About a quarter of those complaints come from areas where horses were kept on a few acres of land. But it is a misconception, Morehouse said, that only new residents in rural areas take offense to flies, odor and dust.

Howard Hansen, a 20-year resident of Oak View, can attest to that.

He said he has suffered health problems and has been unable to use his back porch since a county ordinance was changed in 1983 allowing his neighbor to keep horses within 40 feet of his property. Previously, the law required a 100-foot buffer.

“It’s just so stinky and dirty,” said Hansen, who has amassed a thick file of complaints and letters to the county over the years. “I want them to change it back.”

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While the Skeeterses and Kalish would like to see the supervisors reject the proposed ordinance outright, others say they need more time to study its effects.

John Harvey, president of the 100-member Ventura County Cattlemen’s Assn., said he wants to know more about how the ordinance would deal with special cases, such as youth raising livestock over several years as 4-H projects.

“They kind of tried to force it down us in a hurry and we haven’t had a chance to really look at it,” he said. “I want to read the 200-plus-page proposal and see what they’re asking us to do.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Livestock Limits

Ventura County officials propose restricting the number of horses allowed on ranches. *

Lot With Size Standard Stalls 10 acres 46 65 15 acres 65 93 20 acres 87 124 25 acres 109 156 30 acres 131 187 40 acres 174 249 100 acres 436 622 200 acres 871 1,245

* Rules apply to land zoned open space, agricultural or rural-agricultural. On ranches using the higher density, manure must be removed from stalls daily and dust must be kept down by watering unplanted areas.

Public Workshops

Public workshops on a proposed ordinance to regulate the number of animals kept on farms and ranches larger than 10 acres will be held on the following days:

* Jan. 4 at the Government Center in Ventura from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. This workshop will also include information on other ordinance changes.

* Jan. 9 at the Government Center from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m.

* Jan. 10 at the Oak View Community Center from 7 to 10 p.m.

* Jan. 18 at the Old Meadows Community Center in Thousand Oaks from 7 to 10 p.m.

* Jan. 26. Event will be sponsored by Ventura County Farm Bureau. Location and time will be announced.