Stable Gets City OK to House More Horses

A Chatsworth stable received permission from the City Council Tuesday to house as many as 50 horses at a time on the nine-acre property, far less than had been sought.

Some nearby neighbors on Baden Avenue, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said they had hoped the council would require that the property owners, Michael Lucas and David Freedman, build fully covered stables to house the animals.

They said such stalls were more environmentally sound than those partially covered because they would keep fecal waste from running into storm drains.

The issue surfaced more than a year ago when the department of building and safety cited the property owners for illegally housing horses.

Last year, a zoning administrator granted Lucas and Freedman a permit for the facility to board as many as 80 horses and allowed them to build additional stables on the property.

As a result, residents started a petition drive, and Councilman Hal Bernson and one resident appealed the zoning department’s decision.

Residents--many of them horse owners--said they were not opposed to boarding horses in the area, but questioned the need and method of boarding that many animals.

Although the council required that any future stables be built fully covered, the owners only have to upgrade the current 10 stables from one-third to one-half covered.

Neighbor Mindy Becker said fully covered stables would keep heavy rain out of the stables and prevent fecal waste from running out of the structures and into storm drains.

Zoning officials said the decision on the open-air stalls was made to allow for different price levels for owners boarding their animals. Also, some horses need to be able to stand in the sun for health reasons, they said.

The property owners will be required to clean the stalls daily to prevent an accumulation of waste, officials said.

Neither Lucas nor Freedman could be reached for comment Tuesday.