Planning board recommends allowing horses in city

The Columbia Falls City-County Planning Board debated the pros and cons of allowing residents to have horses inside the city limits at their Feb. 10 meeting.

In the end, they unanimously recommended approval of a zoning text amendment allowing up to horses per acre on tracts with a minimum of two acres and at least one acre set aside for pasture.

The amendment was brought by the city council after Logan Nolan asked about keeping horses on a 6-acre tract south of the Mormon and Baptist churches on Talbott Road that he plans to buy.

As proposed, the person responsible for keeping the horses must reside on the property, and the owner must obtain a conditional-use permit. The permit could be granted depending on location and neighbor comment received during the CUP process. Additional standards might be required by the city, including more fencing to protect neighbors’ landscaping and a waste management plan.

City manager Susan Nicosia said about half a dozen properties inside the city limits could be logical candidates for horses. She said the question of allowing horses in the city has come up over the years.

The zoning text amendment also addressed a discrepancy between city code, which has banned livestock since 1948, and the city’s zoning regulations, which cover both the city and the 1-mile planning and zoning “doughnut” area. As proposed, property owners in single-family residential zoned areas in the “doughnut” area may continue to keep fowl and livestock as before.

Logan Nolan said he spoke with all neighbors within 150 feet of the property he wants to buy and nobody was opposed.

“I don’t see any negative impacts to neighbors,” he said.

Scott Nolan, who owns an adjacent property, spoke in favor of the zoning text amendment. He said the six acres Logan Nolan wants to buy is mostly knapweed now.

“I can vouch for my son,” he said. “He won’t create a dump.”

Barb Crawford, who lives “downwind” on Riverwood Lane, said she was adamantly opposed. She expressed concerns about odors and the density — as proposed, six acres could have 12 horses.

“I love horses, but there are plenty of other places for them,” she said.

Board member Lee Schlesinger also lives nearby. He said he spoke with many of the residents on Riverwood Lane and found them strongly opposed. Concerns included attracting more deer to the area, odors, flies and dog barking.

Board chairman Russ Vukonich wanted to know what would happen if the owner followed all the conditions of a CUP but conditions changed in the neighborhood or neighbors later changed their mind.

Board member Courtney Nolan said she wasn’t sure if a CUP process could adequately address odors or other nuisance issues.

“I’ve seen things go through the CUP process and then come back to bite us,” she said. “People need to come forward and let us know their concerns.”

Schlesinger’s motion to just fix the city code-zoning regulations discrepancy failed on a 7-1 vote. The board then voted unanimously in favor of the entire amendment as proposed. It will go to the city council on Tuesday, Feb. 17.