The truth of the matter

Bonsall residents with horses have been misled and misinformed with regards to the potential impact upon them of the county staff’s recommendation to the Planning Commission to deny the Puchta Horse Barns proposal as submitted and the subsequent withdrawal by the Puchtas of their proposal to construct 17,000-plus square feet of barns for 62 horses on just five acres of land.

As one of the attorneys for the neighbors who have consistently opposed the project, I was present when the director of the Department of Planning and Land Use stated in record that there is no intent to revise any ordinance regarding horses. He also stated there is no intent on the part of County Code Enforcement, as had been alleged by the Puchtas, to inspect horse properties to ensure compliance with county ordinances.

County staff merely came to the conclusion that the number of horses proposed suggested a commercial activity and that potential environmental impacts upon nearby neighbors required the preparation of additional environmental studies. Those two factors require the Puchtas to obtain a major use permit for their proposed project.

The equestrian community should be at ease. Nothing will change at all.

Carl Morrison