 |
|
|||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
Shadow Hills--The Sunrise on Sombra Hill Ranch in Shadow Hills has become the new home for the longhorn cattle who had to recently leave their long time residence in Lake View Terrace. Mr. Jack "Appy" Switzer donated his cattle to the Shadow Hills 4-H Club, which makes its home on the ranch.
The ranch is the ideal location for the longhorn. Retired contractor, turned farmer, Paul Hall owns the ranch which meanders through three canyons and spans 16 acres. The ranch is located off of Sunland Boulevard just above the Sunland Water Gardens.
Hall’s ranch is a work in progress, which has goats, sheep, rabbits, chickens, cows, an emu, and now longhorn cattle in residence. The ranch has been slowly filling out into the canyon as Hall and the 4-H put in manual labor to build roads, trails and provide living quarters for the livestock.
Hall has what many from this community would think to be an ideal life. Retired with good health and the land to live on, he’s able build his farm and teach young people something about nature and farming.
The project at 9945 Wheatland Ave. was originally approved for the development of 28 single family homes in the early nineties. However, due to concerns that were expressed by various residents of Shadow Hills, numerous changes to the proposed plans were made, and the developer accommodated nearly every request of residents. These changes were extremely time consuming and expensive yet they were made because the developers felt it was extremely important to alleviate the fears and concerns of surrounding landowners, and to preserve and improve the already existing horse keeping community . These changes and modifications included, reducing the project from 28 to 23 homes; to preserve many of the existing trees to ensure the natural climate and ambiance of the neighborhood and to replace every tree removed with another tree; and to increase the size of lots so that all lots are at least 20,000 sq. ft. Also of significance is that the developers agreed to plan and build an equestrian trail that surrounds the entire project and is open for public use, and to preserve and improve present horse trails. The improvement of the equestrian facilities includes zones designated for the loading/unloading of horses which improves convenience and safety.
The allegations made by Maria Mejia in her open letter to "The Hoof Beat" are lies intended to mislead local residents and derail the development. The City of Los Angeles has reviewed the developers plans and has determined that the environment will not be significantly impacted. Moreover, the natural habitat of wildlife on the site will be preserved and the MND report prepared by the city indicated that the project presented no threat to any species of animal. Concerns regarding traffic at Wheatland Ave. and Art St. were also allayed when the Dept. of Transportation indicated at public hearing that the impact of 23 additional homes is minimal at worst. Most importantly, the proposed grading plans are subject to scrutiny by the city and pose no threat of danger to surrounding residents.
It has been strongly suggested by some residents that Ms. Mejia is a self serving person, as opposed to someone genuinely concerned about the development of her neighborhood. Some neighbors believe Ms. Mejia is simply attempting to punish the developers because they refused to give her 10,000 sq. ft. of land, fix her pool at their expense, paint her house, and give her $35,000.00 in cash. Regardless of her motivations, one thing remains clear; the statements made by Ms. Mejia are unfounded, malicious lies! Any concerned person seeking to confirm the falsity of Ms. Mejia's claims, or review the development plans, permits, reports or artist renderings is invited to contact California Home Development at (213) 924-0300.
Members of the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce, Valley Horse Owners, Corral 20 and 34, residents of Lake View Terrace and Shadow Hills, and the local media came out to help the 4-H welcome the longhorn to their new home. It made for an interesting afternoon, for instance, as one longhorn got to meet a llama for the first time. (Photos courtesy of Stephen Ford.)
| |||
| |||
|
|
Hansen Dam--The new bike trail can be seen in the photograph above running along the same route as the equestrian trail coming up out of Shadow Hills into the Hansen Dam. The view in the photograph is from Hansen Dam looking down onto Wentworth with the hills of Shadow Hills in the background. The trail was officially opened last month.
According to the July 2000 edition of the Planning and Zoning Code for 613 SEC. 13.05 -- "K" Equine Keeping Districts:
“7. Notwithstanding any provisions of this Code to the contrary, equine uses of the land on "K" Equinekeeping District lots shall be allowed to be continued if, after the legal establishment of the equine use, the City issued a building permit to construct a residential building on an adjacent lot within the legal required distance between an equine use and the residential building on an adjacent lot. If, in accordance with the provisions of Section 12.24 X 5 the Zoning Administrator grants permission for a residential building on an adjacent lot to be constructed closer than 35 feet from a legally existing equine enclosure, the equine enclosure may be considered to be nonconforming if it is relocated not closer than 35 feet from the habitable rooms attached to any residential building. The nonconforming equine use shall be subject to the following limitations: (Amended by Ord. No. 173,492, Eff. 10/10/00.)”
“(a) The equine enclosure shall not be closer than 35 feet from the habitable rooms of any residential building.”
“(b) The subject lot has been designated by an Equine License to stable at least one licensed equine during the 12 months prior to the issuance of the building permit for the residential building on an adjacent lot.”
“(c) The equine enclosure shall not be expanded, extended, or relocated so as to reduce the nonconforming distance between the enclosure and the habitable rooms of the residential building on an adjacent lot.”
“(d) The nonconforming equine use shall be discontinued if, during a successive 3-year period, no equine is licensed by the Department of Animal Regulation to be stabled on the subject lot. (Amended by Ord. No. 161,352, Eff. 7/20/86.).”
Lisa Martin from Corral 20 and East Valley Feed are acting as the point persons to find out how many people might be interested in getting micro chipping for their horses in the Shadow Hills area. The bright idea came out of a recent conversation with animal regulation to include both micro chipping and a horse license for $25.
If you are interested, please contact Lisa at Lisa@safetyresearch.com or 818/353-3532, and provide her your name, address, and phone number, and the number of horses to be micro chipped.
42nd Annual All American Fellowship Ride, Sunday May 5th, Wildwood Canyon, Yucaipa.
Valley VOTE and One LA Debate, May 22nd, 7 PM at Mario's Sterling Restaurant, Sunland.
San Fernando Valley Fair, June 6th-9th, Hansen Dam Sports Center, Entry deadline May 20th, for more information call (818) 557-1600 or www.sfvalleyfair.org.
Lydia Hiby is coming to Sevenoaks Ranch on Saturday, June 8th starting at 10 AM, $30 for a 15 minute consultation. Please call Julie at (818) 899-6864 for reservations.
Horsemanship and Bitting Clinic, June 29, 2002, 50% of proceeds go to Chatsworth Land Preservation Association. Details to be announced.
The horse is the seventh of 12 animals associated with the Chinese lunar calendar. In commemorating the Year of the Horse, the U.S. Postal service has issued it’s tenth in a series of stamps honoring the Chinese new year. The California legislature has used this occasion to introduce Resolution number 175, which would designate December 14, 2002, as the Day of the Horse.
|
| This Year of the Horse is the tenth in the Postal Service's award-winning Lunar New Year commemorative stamp series. |
|
| North China, Tang period, early 8th century, Earthenware with multicolored lead glazes (sancai ware), Estate of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, 1992.001. |
According to the Asia Society, “the native Chinese horse is relatively small in stature. When Chinese emissaries first came across monumental horses bred in the state of Ferghana in the second century B.C.E., they were awestruck by their strength and stamina and imported them in quantity. Under Tang rule (618-906) the horse came to epitomize power and strength. The emperor Taizong immortalized his favorite horses in relief stone carvings placed around his tomb. Ceramic horses placed in Tang tombs are remarkable for their convincing modeling and realistic poses.”
Resolution 175, “Day of the Horse”, was introducted March 19th in the California Assembly. The bill was adopted by the Assembly and passed to the Senate on April 22nd. The bill is currently in Committee in the Senate.
The text of the bill reads, “WHEREAS, The horse is a living link to the heritage and history of the State of California and the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, Without horses, the economy, history, and character of the State of California and the United States of America would be profoundly different; and
WHEREAS, The presence of the horse continues to permeate our society from movie screens to open land to our own back yards; and
WHEREAS, Horses are a vital part of our collective experience and, as such, deserve our protection and compassion; and
WHEREAS, With increasing pressure from modern society, all horses, wild and domestic, rely on humans for adequate food, water, and shelter; and
WHEREAS, Today, horses play a vital role in the economy of the State of California and the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, The Congressional Horse Caucus estimates the horse industry contributes well over $100 billion to the American economy annually; and
WHEREAS, The University of California, Davis, reports that California equine activities support between 300,000 and 1 million horses; and
WHEREAS, The second Saturday in December should be specially set aside as the Day of the Horse to encourage all citizens to be mindful of the welfare of the horse and its contribution to our economy, heritage, and history; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby proclaims December 14, 2002, to be the Day of the Horse in the State of California, and calls upon all citizens to be mindful of the welfare of the horse and to recognize and appreciate the role of the horse in our history, heritage, and economy.
Chatsworth--The County has purchased the 13-14 acre Horner Property to provide the equestrian community with a staging area. It may not be as big as what we were used to at Variel and Rinaldi, but I will never look a gift horse in the mouth. Without this staging area, Corral 54 has no where to stage its trail functions. We really scrambled to relocate our trail trials for Sunday. I hear the place is not available for a second go around.
We tried to get the City to give us the north/east corner of north Stoney Point Park, across the street and freeway from the Horner property, but they were not receptive. Some of the community would prefer that we had the Stoney Point area and have some opposition to the Horner staging area. Only the Horner property is available to us. I want to support the bird in the hand, not the two in the bush.
Could you please send a letter to: Michael J. Antonovich, Supervisor, Fifth District, 21949 Plummer St., Chatsworth, CA 91311
You don't need to put much into the letter, just say you support the staging area for the Chatsworth equestrians - or so you can come to Chatsworth and have a place to park and go for a ride in our unique hills. I need a ton of support for this. If there is anyone else you know that could send a letter, please give them the information.
Valley Horse Owners Association meets on the first Thursday of each month at the Lake View Terrace Recreation Hall on Foothill Blvd. between Orcas Ave. and Clybourn Ave. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM. All members are welcome. We normally meet in the west wing.
| President | Carol Ford | President@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Secretary | Julie Morris | Secretary@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Treasurer | Elaine Canter | Treasurer@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Evac & Trails | Tama Lockwood | EVAC@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Membership Chairperson | Lynn Conway | Membership@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Newsletter | Stephen Ford | Editor@VHOA.ORG | ||
| Directors at Large | ||||
| West Valley | Kent & Melissa Lovelady | WestValley@VHOA.ORG | ||
| East Valley | Kayla Mull | kayla4moly@aol.com |
The members of the Valley Horse Owners Association are your neighbors and fellow equestrians. We share common interests such as the agricultural zoning in our communities, preserving our semi-rural lifestyles and using our land for horse keeping.
Our membership keeps up to date on issues in the community, city and county government that effect horse keeping and land use. We attend public hearings and promote cooperation to preserve our quality of life and to ensure we are represented by our elected officials.
The Valley Horse Owners Association acts as a clearing house for information and a liaison between the horse community and officials and politicians.
Land Use: We promote cooperation between residents and organizations on equestrian issues, land use, planning and zoning matters. We realize that only by uniting can we have a strong voice in city government and prevail against the reckless development that threatens to eliminate horse keeping areas or changes in legislation affecting equestrians. We attend Land Use hearings, City Council hearings, etc., and act as advocates for the horse keeping community.
Trails: Our members report on trail conditions and usage. We cooperate with other organizations and Trails Councils to maintain and acquire dedicated multi-purpose trails.
EVAC Unit: Four teams stand by, equipped with trailers and two way radios to evacuate horses and other animals to designated 'safe areas' in case of flood or fire. In past years, we worked with the Santa Clarita Sheriffs Department and with the Wildlife Way Station in responding to fires.
The Hoof Beat: We publish a newsletter once a month called the The Hoof Beat. The newsletter covers issues related to horse keeping, land use, zoning, trails and public hearings as well as a calendar of events, reprints of equestrian articles and local news briefs.
VHOA.ORG:The web site offers us a place to provide more information, publish an electronic copy of The Hoof Beat, archive earlier issues of the newsletter, and a summary of on going issues.
Community Involvement: Many of our members are also involved in property owner associations and other community groups. This enables our membership to network across the San Fernando Valley sharing information and working as a united front to support the preservation of land use and zoning for horse keeping.
Click here to print membership application
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2002 by the Valley Horse Owners Association. All rights reserved.
