NEWLIN TOWNSHIP: Opposition to horse farm rules continues

At another standing-room-only meeting, Newlin Township residents voiced their passionate opposition to a proposed ordinance that would regulate equestrian operations.
At the Sept. 8 hearing, the residents made the same points to the township supervisors they had made at the township's Aug. 11 meeting: that the supervisors were jeopardizing their livelihoods without understanding the horse business and, in the longer term, endangering the sought-after rural character and lifestyle of Newlin by placing undue hardships on horse farm owners.
The supervisors said they will vote on the ordinance at their Oct. 13 meeting. Resident Lisa Thomas, who has collected almost 1,400 signatures on an online petition against the measure, asked if the supervisors would sit down and meet with the residents before the vote, but they did not answer her. Supervisors Rob Pearson said only that the board would take into account the residents' comments.
Among the speakers were landowners Ed and Susan Brown, Suzanne Schless, former Olympic rider and now coach Jessica Ransehousen of Blue Hill Farm on Powell Road, and Steven Siepser. Ben Barnett of Hilltop View Road drew a standing ovation when he asked if the supervisors had actually heard from anyone who supported the proposal. He suggested that the supervisors reject the ordinance and focus on more important issues facing the township, like the large development being proposed for the former Embreeville Hospital property.
A who's who of the local equestrian world was in the audience, including Olympic eventer Boyd Martin, who had just returned from competing in the World Equestrian Games in France.
The proposed ordinance would allow the boarding of horses as long as the farm in question meets certain requirements. If the farm fell short, however, the owners would have to apply for a special exception from the township's Zoning Hearing Board. The township charges $1,500 to hold such a hearing.
The residents' anger seems to focus on the requirements that the township wants to impose on boarding facilities, such as having at least three acres for the first horse and two acres for each additional one, as well as restrictions about where pastures can be located in terms of flood plains and steep slopes and where manure can be stored. The residents said the acreage requirements were arbitrary and unfair.
The supervisors have stressed that it was not their choice to deal with this situation but it was thrust upon them in the spring of 2013 when some Hilltop View Road residents complained that the new owners of a farm on the road, Mr. Barnett and his wife, had substantially increased the horse trailer traffic. The supervisors said the regulations on the books had never been enforced, and they couldn't enforce the rules on one boarding operation and not on all.
The proposed ordinance is posted on the township's website.