Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Boles-horse-Aunt-Park

Full Text:

P&Z Approves Horse Operation On Aunt Park Lane

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved a controversial

application from an Aunt Park Lane couple who wanted to legitimize their

existing horse boarding operation. The approval also allows them to build an

indoor horse arena on their 22-acre property.

After a brief discussion, P&Z members approved the application from Robert and

Jody Boles of 39 Aunt Park Lane on January 7. The Boles plans to build a

30-foot-tall, 12,240-square-foot, steel-frame, fabric-enclosed horse arena on

their land.

The Boleses' application drew strong opposition from neighborhood residents at

a December 17 public hearing. Numerous residents in the area then said their

central concern involves potentially heavier traffic on Aunt Park Lane, a

narrow, winding side street off Hattertown Road.

In unanimously approving the Boleses' application, P&Z members put several

conditions on the project.

The conditions include that: no more than 21 horses be boarded at the site;

equine training sessions not be provided on Mondays; an existing driveway on

the property be widened to 20 feet; and no new exterior lighting be used on

the property.

P&Z member Heidi Winslow said people speaking at the public hearing appeared

to have two major concerns: increased traffic on Aunt Park Lane, and the

overuse of nearby Newtown Forest Association open space land by horses.

Ms Winslow said traffic on the road would not be worsened due to an arena's

presence. Open space land such as that owned by the forest association is an

appropriate place for horseback riding, she added.

P&Z member Michael Osborne urged approval of the proposal, terming it a

"straightforward" application.

Robert and Jody Boles bought nine acres in 1996 and purchased an additional

adjacent 13 acres last June. A neighbor had complained to the town that

although the Boleses were boarding horses on their land, they did not have

town approval to do so, resulting in the Boleses' application to the P&Z.

At the December hearing, resident Dana Schubert of 27 Aunt Park Lane said he

will be able to see the proposed arena from his house. Mr Schubert pointed out

there are some narrow sections of Aunt Park Lane.

"We fear that there will be an accident. It's a dangerous road," he said. Mr

Schubert said his primary concern with the horse proposal involves an

increased traffic load on an already dangerous street.

At the hearing, Wesley Gillingham, president of the Newtown Forest

Association, a local land conservation group, raised questions about the

Boleses' equine use of association land adjacent to the Boles property. Mr

Gillingham asked whether the Boleses would rent out the use of horses,

potentially placing heavy horse traffic and excessive wear on the association

property. Mrs Boles responded that her horse operation would not rent out

horses for casual use on the adjacent property.

Resident Leslie Tolles of 22 Aunt Park Lane said, "I believe the boarding of

horses is probably contemporary farming." If the land is not used for horses,

it might otherwise be developed for new home construction, she said.

Resident Cindy Blackman of Great Quarter Road, president of the Newtown Bridle

Lands Association, stressed that the horse operation conducted by the Boleses

would not be a "hack stable" in which horses are rented out for casual use.