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

On July 23, the public outreach meeting for the proposed Equestrian Center was held at the Yorba Linda Community Center. Approximately 30 people were in attendance to provide the consultants input regarding their concerns, direction regarding the type of amenities to be included at the site and the need for the facility.
The list of amenities the equestrian groups would like to see included at the proposed center are:

• 100-200 box and outside stalls
• A 25 ft x 250 ft covered arena with seating
• Two lunging arenas
• Warm up area
• Hot walker
• Wash stalls
• Tack Room
• Veterinary Hospital
• Rest rooms/ Showers
• Managers Office
• Residence for caretaker
• Fountain and  a Horse Statue
• Dog/skate park
• Trail head
• Picnic area
• Community Multipurpose Building
• Community Garden
• Community/ Youth/ Therapeutic Activities
  

Consultants did mention that not all of these amenities will fit into the area being designated on the lake bed. This was a wish list and would be a starting point to see what would work in that area. The consultants are continuing to work on identifying which parcels of land in that area are available for development.

Concerns voiced at the Meeting:

There was be additional meetings regarding this project. If you are interested in giving input call the City Parks and Recreation Department at: 714-961-7100. When you call you have the opportunity to sign up for email updates on this project.

My vote on the Yorba Linda Equestrian feasibility study was predicated on a variety of concerns. I would like to preface this with a reiteration of my support for the equestrian community, their interests and ensuring safe, reliable trails and access to equestrian facilities. In 2006 when I ran for Council, I pledged support for an equestrian stable. The equestrian leadership indicated at that time, if given the land, they would find an independent business to build and run a horse stable in our community. I was and continue to support that idea.

I have followed with interest as the equestrians identified locations in our community to provide a stable facility site. I have worked with our Supervisor and his office staff identifying locations within Yorba Linda’s sphere of influence that might provide greater acreage while still providing easy access for our community members. I am in communication with a regional equestrian group and would support a limited partnership to determine a regional need for such a facility. My votes have reflected I support open and safe access to the trail system.

I am not in support of the City building another business and then hiring a managing company.

Within the study’s scope of work, the consultant clearly stated the proposed equestrian center would require significant City funding. The expectation is the City would build the facility and contract with a company to manage the business. Similar facilities in surrounding communities have apparently cost $6-9 million to build.

We are in the process of cutting our budget and back-filling the shortfall with general funds. We are eliminating the Fiesta Day Parade, 2010 Fireworks show, we are reducing service and reducing staffing levels. Is this the time to proceed with a project we cannot afford?

The equestrians have a $250,000 ear-marked fund for use to build a stable. Although unusual, some members of this Council has determined over the years interest has raised the amount to about $450,000. These funds would be used to offset some of the building costs. This is hardly enough to cover a project this large.

The second and third phases of this study are time sensitive. Determining the need and financial viability of this project will be valuable information at the time the project could potentially be funded. What is determined as need or financial viability will change in 5, 10 or 15 years. Mayor Schwing suggested we complete Phase one of the study to determine if the site selected, (a portion of the lakebed off Buena Vista) was viable. The cost for this portion of the study was about $24,000. This information would withstand the test of time and I was in support of this suggestion. After discussion, the majority of the Council wanted to proceed with the entire study. I could not support funding the entire study.

Lastly, this business carries a tremendous liability for our community. If there were a personal or equine injury, the City would most likely be sued. Even if there were insufficient evidence of neglect, we would have to defend the City in any possible lawsuit.

My voting decision has created a considerable amount of anger among some of the equestrians and I can understand the disappointment. As an elected official of the City, it is my responsibility to spend and protect the citizens money wisely and to balance the needs of many.

I continue to support the concept of providing the land to an equestrian collaborative group, preparing the land, whether it is to fund an EIR, gain support from the Wildlife, Fish and Game Authorities, provide water source to the site. At that point, interested individuals should take this on as a private business or a community collaborative. I have been informed there may be grants available for facilities such as this. I would encourage the collaborative to gain as much knowledge and begin the process of gaining the funds to build the Equestrian Center.