A community meeting was held January 27, 2010 to present the Equestrian Feasibility study commissioned by the majority council.Approximately 75-10 people were in attendance. The study was narrow in focus, studying only one site within Yorba Linda, located on County property above the dam along side the lakebed. The results of the study are summarized as follows:
There are three available parcels in the lakebed dam area for potential development:
1. Along Lakeview: 3.3 acres
• There are three active oil wells on that pad that requires a service area left available for use
• Would potentially require widening of the pad adding to the cost
• Would potentially require a signal at Lakeview for safe ingress/ egress
• A member of the community asked how this area would be affected by the grade separation project planned for that area.
2. South of the dam: 4.4 acres
• There are two active oil wells near by
• The site is close to a school and residential property
• The area is in a valley that has limited air circulation and is not esthetically pleasing
• The site will require significant grading and slope easements
3. East of the dam off Ridge Way: 7.0 acres
• Near residential area with local street access
• Easiest to develop, less protected habitat concerns
• access issues: possible emergency exit or site for smaller stable/ arena usage
Some Key points made by the consultants and the community members who spoke:
1. This site overall is very challenging.
2. Two options were identified. Option one included a covered arena, stalls and various other amenities. Option two, a commercial option that housed a vet practice, an open arena and stalls
3. Costs range for Option one was: $5.5 M to $12.7 M; Option two was $3.5 M to 8.7 M
4. Where are the funds coming from? One speaker mentioned, “the same place we get the money for the ball fields”. The Country Riders President mentioned, there are grants and private donations available. No information was presented regarding a business plan or verified sources of funding.
5. About 20% of Yorba Linda horse owners board their animals outside Yorba Linda. At times, this is because they board where their trainer is located.
6. Orange County has lost approximately 2000 boarding stalls in the past 20 years
7. The 88 acre lakebed property is owned by Orange County Flood Control. Staff has indicated, if we wanted to build a project on a portion of the land, they County would require us to be responsible for the entire 88 acres. Due to the erosion and maintenance issues in the area, some speakers were concerned with the City becoming liable for the entire area.
8. In the 1990’s many equestrian facilities went bankrupt. The supply and demand for this type of facility is “squishy” and is adversely affected by the economy, usually it takes a longer time to recover once the economy improves.
9. The current trend: people are giving up their horses
10. There is limited outlook for an elaborate plan. If this plan would go forward, best to stick to basics.
11. Resident concerns:
• Need to preserve the lakebed, avoid over-utilization of the area adding to the erosion problems the area is already experiencing
• Access points onto residential streets for trailers, trucks and increased small streets.
• Safety of horse trailer ingress and egress on Lakeview.
• Questioned why only one site was studied. This was the majority Council direction.
• Why is this being funded with City funds for a small % of the population?
• Why not just cover the Paxton center?
• The past owner of one of the El Cajon stables, stated his stables were not filled to capacity and it was difficult to break even. Stated the cost to run and maintain 125 stalls would require stall fees of about $600-700/ month to break even. He was not in favor of this project being City owned and operated.
12. Some residents stated they would move their horses from outlying stables if we had a facility in Yorba Linda.
13. Yorba Linda has two stable facilities: one is private requiring lessons for horses boarded there. The other is public and is not full to capacity.
To View the Power Point made at the Community center regarding this study go to:
http://tinyurl.com/yjl6y3u
To View Prior posts regarding this topic on this site go to: http://tinyurl.com/lhflr8
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally agree with making this a stable and support the horses and owners. Thank you
Parks and multi-use trails can be used by all residents, so are a good use of tax dollars. But targeted recreation facilities like golf courses, equestrian centers, and arts facilities, cause the city to spend money that only a small subset of the residents can utilize, so should not be funded by our tax dollars. And the Black Gold Golf Course and it’s ongoing financial troubles are a great example of why the city should stay out of the fee based recreation facility business.
I’m sure an equestrian facility would be enjoyed by the horse owners in the area. However, I believe there are far more ATV and dirt bike owners in this city than horse owners. Even though I am an ATV owner and would love to have a nearby place to ride, I don’t think the city should pay to build an off-highway-vehicle park since it wouldn’t be utilized by a large cross section of the city’s residents. Same goes for an equestrian facility.
As to the statement that funding for an equestrian facility should come from “the same place we get the money for the ball fields,” I think the speaker is taking the wrong tack. The grassy areas for the ballfields have very widespread use and are utilized by a very large segment of the residents, so public funding of these areas makes sense. But the infrastructure for specific sports (backstops, goal posts, soccer goals, etc.) and the upkeep of the fields should be at least partially borne by the sports organizations that also utilize the fields. To a large degree this is being done already. I know that JUSA soccer provides all their own goals, has purchased lights for some fields, and spends thousands of dollars each year on field maintenance (fertilizer, grass seed, soil topper, sprinkler repairs and installation, etc.). As I understand it, Little League paid for and maintains much of the infrastructure at Veteran’s Park and also spends thousands of dollars each year on field repairs and maintenance. I don’t know about Pop Warner Football and the other organizations, but if they aren’t contributing, that should be changed.
If horse owners (or arts organizations, or ATV owners for that matter) want a dedicated facility in the city, they need to fund it themselves or sell the idea of a fee based facility to an investor or businessman, not come to the city for public funding.
In response to the previous comment by “John”…I totally agree with the idea that “special interest” or “hobby” groups should should build, maintain, and manage their own facilities. It should not be the responsibility of the city, or burden the taxpayers.
The Yorba Linda Arts Alliance has ALWAYS maintained that the arts facility would be privately funded.