Agoura Hills : Council to Consider Equestrian Center Fees

The Agoura Hills City Council on Wednesday will consider a proposal to charge fees for horse shows and clinics at the city’s new equestrian center.

Under the plan, a $100 fee would be charged for each four-hour period taken by horse shows, clinics and other events. A $250 refundable cleaning deposit would be required.

Smaller groups would be charged $10 per hour and would be allowed to book the facility for 1 1/2 hours at a time. No cleanup deposit would be required.

The fees would cover direct costs for the additional use of the facility, said Audrey Brown, the city’s director of community services. To keep the facility available to the general public, she said, horse shows, clinics and other special uses would be curtailed.

Old Agoura Park Equestrian Center, at 5301 Chesebro Road, opened last June. The proposed fees, recommended by the city’s Community Services Advisory Committee, would be reviewed in a year by a community task force set up to establish policies for the facility’s operation.

City officials said that the fees would generate as much as $2,000 annually toward maintenance, which costs $11,000 a year. The city budgeted $9,000 in fiscal 1995-96 for maintenance, Brown said.

City Councilman Denis Weber expressed support for the idea of fees. “We’re not in the position of giving away services,” he said. “In this day and age, you need to pay for what you get.”

Wednesday’s hearing will begin at 7 p.m. at Agoura Hills City Hall, 30101 Agoura Court.