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HomeMy WebLinkAbout38.18 ORDINANCE NO. 38.18 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA AMENDING THE SARATOGA CITY CODE, BUT ADDING DIVISION 5 TO ARTICLE 1 OF CHAPTER 8, RELATING TO HORSE AND STABLE LICENSES. The City Council of the City of. Saratoga does ordain as follows: Sectional:The Saratoga City Code is hereby amended by enacting, adopting and adding to said code a new Division 5 to Article 1 of Chapter 8 thereof, said new Division to be numbered and to read as follows: DIVISION 5. Horse and Stable Licenses Section 8-35.1 Purpose. This Division is adopted to establish licensing requirements for the keeping of horses, and to regulate the keeping and maintenance thereof, in order to protect and promote the public health, safety, welfare, comfort and convenience, while permitting residents to keep horses under appropriate conditions, and further to establish conditions and requirements for the operation of community stables. This division is intended to provide a basis for correction of existing unsafe and unhealthful conditions. Section 8-35.2 Definitions. For the purpose of this Code, and all ~ther ordinances of the City of Saratoga, certain words and phrases are defined as follows, and certain provisions shall be construed as herein set forth: Corral: An area completely enclosed by fencing for the concen- tration of livestock in which any horse is kept, not including a horse stable. H6rse: Any member of the horse family (Equidae) including, .but not limited to, ponies, donkeys and mules. Pasture: A plot~.6f ground other than a corral with grass or · ~ other plant life available for grazing livestock. Horse Stable: Any building or structure or portion thereof designed or used for the housing or feeding of a horse or horses. Horses~ Maintenance for Private Use: The keeping of horses for private use as a use accessory to a residence an the same site, and not for remuneration, hire or sale. Community Stable: A private stable or corral designed, owned and used solely by residents and guests of a particular area, for the keeping or use of horses in private ownership, for homeowners, private clubs, or riding schools, where riding lessons are not open to the public and no horses are offered to the public fo~Ume~a~' · ' tion, hire, or sale. -1- Commercial Stable: Any establishment providing services or facilities for the keeping and/or use of horses, other than for private use, including but not limited to, board- ing stables and riding schools, but not including community stables. Boarding Stable: Any commercial stable or corral where horses are lodged o~ fed for remuneration. Riding School: Any establishment providing or offering for remuneration, ~questrian instruction through private lesson, organized classes, or group instructional activities, or any establishment where horses are maintained or facilities provided pri- marily for the purpose of providing equestrian instruction for'remuneration. Keeping or Maintenance: Whenever the term keep, keeping, maintain, or maintenance is used in this Division in relation to a horse or horses, the termshall mean the same as the defini- tion of the word Reeping as that word is defined in Subsection v.1 of Section 1.5 of Ordinance NS-3 of the City of Saratoga. Section 8-35.3 Interpretation. The provisions of this Division shall be held to be minimum requirements, except where it is expressly stated that maximum requirements shall prevail. The provisions are not intended to impair or interfere with any private restrictions placed upon property by covenant or deed or other- Wise, provided however, that where this Division imposes greater restrictions upon such property, the provisions of this Division shall control. Section 8-35.4 Conformity Required. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or other entity to keep or maintain any horse, or cause any horse to be kept or maintained, in the City of Saratoga except in conformance with the provisions of this Division and'~the Zoning Ordinanceof the City of Saratoga. Section 8-35'~5 General Provisions. (a)Enclosures and Control. All horses shall at all times be kept in a corral or enclosed stable meeting the ~equirements of this Division, other than when being ridden or exercised under the direct control of some responsible person, save and except that the Planning Director shall have the power, but not the obligation, to permit the keeping of per- mitted horses in~.apasture under reasonable conditions as imposed in the license. (b) Construction of Corrals and Stables. All Corrals shall be enclosed by a substantial~ fence, and corrals for the enclo- sure of stallions shall conform to the State of California Code sections governing safety fencing, and all s tables and corrals shall be erected and constructed in conformity with the Building Code of the City.. Where existing buildings and structures constructed in compliance with regulatiSns in force at the time of construction do not comply with current regulations, and constitute a threat to health, safety or the general welfare, specific correc- tions may be required by the Planning Director and City Health Officer asia condition of issuance of alicensej (c) Fire Protection. Keeping of horses and buildings and structures for this purpose shall conform to the fire protection s~andards of the Fire District in which the site is located. -2- (d) Maintenance-Sanitary Conditions. All stables and corrals shall at all times be kept adequately clean of manure, and the Planning Director shall have power to require fly trapping o~ fly killing substances and devices, as a condition of any license, as recommended by the City Health Department. All horses and premises on which horses are kept shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition. (d) InspeCtion. Every site and premises on which any horse is kept or maintained shall be subject to inspection by the Planning Director and City Health Officer and other City officers and employees, at all reasonable times. Section 8-35.6 Location and Area Requirements. (a) Horses may be maintained for private use, and community stables may be maintained, only in such zoning districts, and only with such minimum site areas and minimum distances of stables and corrals from property lines and other structures, as permitted by the provisions of Ordinance NS-3, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Saratoga. Unless other- wise permitted by said Zoning Ordinance, commercial stables are prohibited. (b) No horse license shall be'issued under the provisions of this Division in violation of any of the provisions herein, or in violation of any of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Saratoga, and any license as may be issued which-is in violation of any of said provisions shall be void and of no force and effect. '~ Section 8-35.7 Community Stables. · Community stables as defined herein shall be permitted only on sites where a conditional use permit has been granted under the terms of the Zoning Ordinance of the City. Each community ~table shall conform with the following provisions, whether Or not such provisions are specifically set forth in the use permit: (a) The premises shall be under the full-time supervision of a competent attendant on duty on the premises. (b) Any community stable providing aquestrian instruction shall give such instructionsonly on the premises, unless special permission to do otherwise has been granted as a condition of issuance of the use permit. (c) No lighting other than needed for safe passing around buildings shall be permitted unless specifically ap- proved under the terms of 'the use permit. Section 8-35.8 Horse Licenses. (a) Horse License Required. No horse over 360 days of age shall be kept or maintained in the City of Saratoga without first obtaining .a horse license from the Planning Director of the City of Saratoga, subject to all of the provisions of this Division and the Saratoga Zoning Ordinance. Such license shall be issuable on any business day of the year. Fees for licenses required under this DiviSion shall be fixed by resolution of the City Council. ~- Each person lawfully keeping any horse in the City of Saratoga as of the effective date of this Division, shall have sixty (60) days there- after within which to make application for a horse license for each such legally kept horse. Pending action on the application, the keeping or maintaining of any such horse shall be deemed to be in compliance with this Division but not thereafter unless a horse license has been obtained in accord herewith. (b)Exception-- Community Stable 0peratin~ Under Use Permit. This section shall not apply to any horse or horses kept and maintained in a community stable under the terms and provisions of a valid Use Permit issued by the Planning Commission of the City. (c)Application for License. Application for a horse license shall be made to the Planning Director on forms provid&d by the City, and shall be accompanied by a dimensioned sketch showing the loca- tion of the proposed stable, corrals, fenhes and other structures and facili- ties for the maintenance of horses, indicating the distance from existing struc- tures on the subject property, the distance from the property lines of the site, and the location on neighboring parcels of all buildings a~d structures within a distance of 100 feet from ~he site. The Planning Director shall have power to exempt persons maintaining horses or having existing facilities for the maintaining of horses for private use as of the date of the enactment of this Division, from the requirement of filing the dimensioned sketch, above specified. (d) Issuance of License. Upon deterr~.~,~ning that all o~-the~pr~vi~ions C~i~,,~ 9f this division and of the Saratoga Zoning Ordinance will be complied with,.t~e Planning Director shall issue a horse license for not more than one horse for each 40,000 square feet of site area, or for'such other minimum site area per horse as may from time to time be prescribed by the Zoning Ordinance. In addition, the Planning Director may grant horse licenses for such additional horses as are permitted by the Saratoga Zoning Ordinance in Equestrian Zone (1) only, where the proposed location of the corral or stable and the total number of horses will not be detrimental to the public health, safety, or welfare, or injurious to property or improvements in the area; such licenses for additional horses however are a matter of grace coL,~c~Ions,~-or-aenred'~n-the ~scret~on'of t~e -PFann~ng~D~rector. All horse licenses may be made conditional upon such additional regulations and conditions as, in the opinion of the Planhing Director, are necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare. (e) Revocation of License. Each horse license shall automatically expire on any change of ownership or location of the site on which the horse is kept, and otherwise shall be perpetual unless revoked as hereinafter set forth. In addition, the Planning Director may at any time revoke any horse license for any viol'ation of any of the provisions of this ~ivision, the Saratoga Zoning Ordinance, or any conditions of such ~icense.. Prior to any revocation for any violation ~~~~e shall give the license holder ten (10) days notxce By certzf~e~ma~l~l~of~s ~ntentxon to revoke, spe ~fy~ g in the notice the reason or the reasons therefor. -4- (f) Appeal. An appeal may be taken by any applicant to the City Council from the decision of the Planning Director refusing to grant a license, granting a license with conditions deemed to be unreasonable by the applicant, or revoking a license previously granted~ which appeal shall be taken by filing with the City Clerk a written notice thereof, letter form being .sufficient, within ten (10) days after the date of action appealed from. The appeal shall be signed by the applicant and shall set forth all of the grounds therefor, and shall be accompanied by such filing fee as may be set by resolution of the City Council. Upon receipt of a notice of appeal and the filing fee, the City Clerk shall set the appeal for hearing before the City Council at its next regular meeting that falls noC less than ten(10) days after the date of filing of the notice of appeal giving notice thereof to the applicant and to such other petsone as have requested notice of the same. The City Council shall review the decision of the Planning Director de novo, and may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the Planning Director provided, however, that if a decision denying a horse license, or a decision revoking a horse license is reversed, the City Council shall make findings on the same and enter it in their minutes. Section 8-35.9 Penalt~ for Violations. In addition to the penalties proVided.for in Section 1-7 of this Code, and without limiting such provisions~ any person who knowlingty or intentionally misrepresents to any officer or employee of the City any material fact in applying fbr a horse license under this Division, shall be guilding of a misdemeanor, and any keepingor maintenance of a horse or horses without a license in violation of this Division shall be deemed to be a public nuisance, and may, by this City, be summarily abated as such, and each day such conditions continues shall be regarded as a new and separate offense. Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held by a court or competentz jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Saratoga hereby declares that it wodld have passed this ordi- nance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be held invalid or unconstitutional. The above and foregoing ordinance was introduced and was thereafter passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Saratoga on the 6th day of December, 1967, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmen Robbins, Tyler, Glennon NOES: None ABSENT: Councilmen Burry, Hartman ~T~~ ~;~ ~ ~ ~ = ~ ~ y ~ The above and foregoing is true and correc~ ~,~ "2'/C~S~K~, ~- co~y O~ Ordinance ~ which has ~een ' -'~ /.~ ~ ' pubiished according to )aw, . ;' '~ ~t~-,~-" -5- Deputy City Clerk D~e