Zoning- does anyone have horses in residential zoning?

[iluvponies]

We found a property we love- it has a 2 stall barn and a few acres, which is perfect for what we need.
The problem is, the property has not had horses on it for over 15 years and has since been rezoned as residential.

Has anyone ever had good luck with a variance and had their town approve horses in a residential area?
The property is about 500 feet from the neighboring town line that does allow horses. The neighborhood is not dense, and most homes are on a few acres or more.

I have discussed it with the town, and they said it would take 3-4 months for them to decide and he couldn’t tell me which way it would go.

It’s in Saratoga county, NY.

[Callista17]

I looked at a property that was 9.75 acres in a VERY rural town. The zoning said 10 acres, and there’s no limit to the number of animals at all. I wanted to have 2 horses, and the town said don’t hold your breath for a variance. I moved along and bought different property.

[Pennywell_Bay]

[QUOTE=iluvponies;8693552]
We found a property we love- it has a 2 stall barn and a few acres, which is perfect for what we need.
The problem is, the property has not had horses on it for over 15 years and has since been rezoned as residential.

Has anyone ever had good luck with a variance and had their town approve horses in a residential area?
The property is about 500 feet from the neighboring town line that does allow horses. The neighborhood is not dense, and most homes are on a few acres or more.

I have discussed it with the town, and they said it would take 3-4 months for them to decide and he couldn’t tell me which way it would go.

It’s in Saratoga county, NY.[/QUOTE]

Call the zoning office and they will direct you to the ordinance on how many horses you can have per acres after X many acres to start (for instance) residential or not.

[iluvponies]

I have called the office. There is no ordinance that states the amount of horses you can have, as you can only have horses is the variance is approved.

[LaurieB]

I would never, ever, buy property based on the hope that the town would give me a variance in the future. The first question the zoning board is going to ask themselves is, what’s in it for us? And the answer they usually come up with is “nothing”.

[hosspuller]

Not to sound unkind, don’t trust what you are told. Get and check the local ordinances yourself. Then, check your interpretation with the town. If the town says okay, then pay a lawyer to recheck before you commit to buying the land.

I had a friend that got caught in the zoning squeeze… Former horse property with new ordinances… Finally had to sell with painful losses.

[ReSomething]

[QUOTE=LaurieB;8693697]
. . The first question the zoning board is going to ask themselves is, what’s in it for us? And the answer they usually come up with is “nothing”.[/QUOTE] Noooo, it’s “money”. In the '70’s we stuck the horses behind the house in R1A1, so the lots were 1/2 acre, we owned two, and not far away, like 1/8th mile, there was a pre-existing stall and pasture set up. We got a letter from the county and had to apply for a variance, which since I was 14 at the time the details were hazy but it involved ditching to drain water from the pasture, “contaminated effluent” away from homes (our house), manure removal, ( I bagged and sold it) and I can’t recall but I think we had a two horse limit. Dad was involved with the trades, planning and zoning were not something he worried about too much as he was there dealing with them all the time nor did he plan to have horses for longer than it took his teenager to get over it, he negotiated it, paid the small fee and we were done. The horses had been there for a year already cough so he wasn’t too worried. We had already owned the property for at least 15 years.

Would I advocate going out on limb and buying with the hopes of obtaining a variance? No I would not. It takes too long and too much energy that you probably want to be expending on other things, or you have to bring the horses in anyway and become a hard shelled scofflaw, and as a new resident you are likely to be treated harshly from the start.

[ReSomething]

You could purchase contingent to the granting of the variance, but as I said it would take a long time, 3-4 months as per your OP, and it ties up your earnest money for what? Is this the perfect property?

[clanter]

I am in the middle of the city, millions of people around me. We are zoned residential, but on acreage.

I spent ten years as vice chairman of the Planning & Zoning board, during that period I embedded the right of horse ownership into the city’s master plan.

[SonnysMom]

Consider going to the future neighbors and seeing if they will mind having horses next door. If they don’t want them they may be able to block the variance. If they won’t mind them see if they will put it in writing. Some towns require the neighbors “permission” before they will grant a variance.
I personally would check the wording of the ordinance yourself. I had a zoning officer in my township give me ridiculous information about having horses at home.
He basically refused to answer and told me there was no one section in the ordinance about horses and if depended on where I wanted my barn, where my well was, where my manure pile was going to go.
I wanted to know how much land for first horse and how much for each additional horse. He told me that was how it worked. It is exactly how it worked. In my township it was 2 acres for the first horse and 1 acre for each additional. (Now it is 3 for the first). He also told me I would need to buy a copy of the zoning book for $200 if I wanted to look it up myself.
One of the women at the township building let me look at their copy when I finally went in. She said there was absolutely no need to buy a copy.
This was before our ordinances were available on-line. That zoning officer is no longer with the township.
Bottom line- read the ordinance yourself not a paraphrased version.

I also would only buy the house with a contingency on getting the zoning variance.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=iluvponies;8693675]
I have called the office. There is no ordinance that states the amount of horses you can have, as you can only have horses is the variance is approved.[/QUOTE]
Is there an ordinance on having horses in the same part of the world with not residential zoning? Good to know so you do no to have to fight two battles. Is it straight residential?

Where I am we are something like residential agricultural (or agricultural residential). We have a minimum acreage required to have livestock (five acres), etc. So, no matter what we would not be allowed to have horses on a lot the size you are talking.

[IPEsq]

We have something in between here called the “rural residential” zoning. Not as many head per acre as ag zoning, but you can keep some livestock. Whether you can get the proper zoning for your needs varies greatly by county. Some are very restrictive. Others have a “right to farm” policy.

[Alpha_Mare]

Suggest that if you make an offer it is contingent upon ALL approvals for horses to reside at that location. Zoning, while important and necessary, is not the only ordinance that may apply.

You would need a land use attorney to help prepare your request for variance - are you ready for those $? That attorney could likely give you more advice on the process and potential criteria the town would use to approve the variance.

EVEN IF the town is ‘ok’ with your proposed variance, they have to go through the process and they have to listen if any objections are made by neighbors. So make the sale contingent upon the final approval for horse occupancy if you decide to go ahead.

It does beg the question why the barn is on the property… but that’s another story I’m sure.

[Pennywell_Bay]

Google your township.
For example:
http://ecode360.com/11101263

And yes, there are most likely some regulations regarding horses.

[trubandloki]

[QUOTE=Alpha Mare;8693960]

It does beg the question why the barn is on the property… but that’s another story I’m sure.[/QUOTE]

The OP says the zoning changed so it makes sense that the barn was there before the zoning changed.

[enjoytheride]

I had a friend who wanted a property. Current owners had 5 horses on it, it was zoned for 3 total (even though it was 5 acres). She decided to apply for a variance. Her soon to be next door neighbor found out and showed up with a very loud anti horse voice. Even though his house wasn’t anywhere near the horse pasture (with horses currently in it) and his acreage was littered with abandoned cars and mattresses.

She passed before the variance was decided.

[Where_sMyWhite]

IMO, if, where this house is located, being zoned residential means no horses and you are hoping for a variance, just move along to a different property.

I suspect that even if you get a variance to allow horses, you will hear no end of b*tching from all the neighbors…

[AKB]

The town can allow you to have horses and then, later, require all kinds of changes that push out the horses. I would buy in the town where other horse owners will fight any proposed new regulations with you.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=iluvponies;8693552]

The property is about 500 feet from the neighboring town line that does allow horses.

It’s in Saratoga county, NY.[/QUOTE]

is it in a town? if not and within 500ft of a town the county P&Z board handles this

Under General Municipal Law Section 239, the county planning board has jurisdictional review of subdivisions and zoning actions that are located within 500 feet of state or county ROW, municipal boundary, or located in an agricultural district.

http://www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/planning/

[ryansgirl]

I’d look elsewhere. I’ve worked in engineering for over 15 years now and unless you have lots of time, money and patience, it’s not worth the hassle trying for a variance. We work on large-scale (multi-million dollar) projects in the northeast and a lot of the time variances are required to get the necessary approvals (clients/developers want what they want despite us telling them what they are up against).

Zoning regs are tricky and having a land-use attorney wouldn’t hurt. Don’t ever, ever take word of mouth from any town/state official. Get it in writing or copies of exactly what is needed, required, allowed, etc.