Equestrian center owners say waste from horse operations does not pollute; worry about possible stringent laws.
By Olivia Damavandi / Staff Writer
Malibu equestrian facility owners disagree with claims made by environmental and legal action group CLEAN, or Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network, that horse waste (manure and urine) qualifies as a pollutant, and said they feel environmental groups are being overzealous in their quest to prohibit equestrian-related development.
The owners have also expressed concern over the possible repercussions that could affect their businesses from the outcome of a decades-long battle between CLEAN and the California Coastal Commission over whether Malibu Valley Farms, a horse showing and boarding facility in the Santa Monica Mountains, is polluting a blue-line stream that drains into Malibu Creek.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant last week granted CLEAN’s writ of mandate in a suit filed against the California Coastal Commission. The court ruled that the commission’s July 2007 approval of an after-the-fact development permit for Malibu Valley Farms, located on Mulholland Highway off Kanan Road, was not based on “substantial evidence” that adequately supported the commission’s decision that a 100-foot setback from the stream, designated as ESHA, or Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area, would not be required. CLEAN states the permit has allowed the facility’s horse manure and urine to “continue polluting” the stream. “We don’t like these after-the-fact permits because people get away with things they shouldn’t,” Marcia Hanscom, managing director of CLEAN, said in a telephone interview last week. “We think they [Malibu Valley Farms] should take everything out and start it from scratch like everyone else who follows the law.”
However, Fred Gaines, attorney for Malibu Valley Farms, said, “This decision is not final. The court rejected almost every argument made by CLEAN. They found that equestrian use is an allowed use at that site, they found no evidence of any pollution caused by the equestrian facility and they found that a less than 100-foot setback from the stream could be allowed.
“It ruled in CLEAN’s favor in the sense of a small technical issue in that the findings adopted by the commission to justify the permit approval were not adequate,” Gaines added, “and so it has ordered that the matter go back to the commission for them to adopt revised findings.”
In a telephone interview on Monday, Steve Hudson, California Coastal Commission district manager for the Santa Monica Mountains, remained neutral to all questions about the case. “Our job as staff is to simply deliver the facts,” Hudson said. “The trial court ruled that in regards to the commission’s findings, the Environmental Review Board’s findings should be set aside. The only thing that’s really relevant is that the commission staff is considering its recommendation.”
Equestrian facility owners worry about more stringent laws
Meanwhile, in addition to advocating that horse waste does not qualify as pollution, some equestrian facility owners are apprehensive that more stringent laws on horse ownership and facility development in Malibu and its surrounding areas will result from the case. The facility owners disagree with claims made by CLEAN, and have expressed concern over the possible repercussions that could result from the outcome of the case, such as more stringent laws on horse ownership and facility development in Malibu and its surrounding areas.
On Monday in a telephone interview, Laura Toston, president of Malibu Riders, Inc. located in Calabasas, said she thinks Malibu Valley Farms is being “picked on” because they are “getting sued without it [horse-related pollution] being proven.” Toston argued that contrary to human or canine excrement, horse manure does not qualify as a pollutant, and that it’s a healthy attribute for other animals and for the environment. “I don’t know why everyone is giving horse manure a bad rap,” Toston said. “It kind of brittles up and dries away. It’s a living enzyme. Dogs and coyotes eat it.”
Regarding how a growing residential population is affecting equestrian facility operation and development, Toston referenced one of her Calabasas ranches situated near a cluster of condominiums. “Half of the people in the condos love the smell [of horse manure] and the other half hate it,” she said. “They think it’s dirty and smelly. I can see both sides [of the situation], but the ranch has been there way before the condos, so if they don’t like it they shouldn’t have moved here.”
The director of another equestrian center in Malibu, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed. “Malibu Valley Farms is spic and span. If you don’t want to smell horses, don’t live in the country,” the director said.
The director also said the city’s population increase has made it more and more difficult to find a place to board a horse.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 13 during which Judge Chalfant will review CLEAN’s writ of mandate; if no parties object to its language and the judge approves the mandate, it will then go to the Coastal Commission for review. The commission will discuss the case in a closed meeting Wednesday in Huntington Beach at 10 a.m.